To most people around her, Jayalalithaa was an enigma - a woman who kept her feelings fiercely private even when her public life went through a rollercoaster of ups and downs, twists and turns.
Like many others in the Tamil political spectrum, Jayalalithaa entered the rough and tumble of public life through the silver screen. Born into a Hebbar Vaishnava Iyengar family at Melukote near Mysore in Karnataka, she lost her father Jayaram when she was only two years old. Her mother Sandhya (real name Vedavalli) was a busy actress. She grew up missing her mother – in an interview she remembered how she, as a girl of 10, waited late in the night to show her first prize in an English essay competition to her mother.
And in the life of Jayalalithaa the star and politician, only two people held sway: Tamil superhero-turned-political star MG Ramachandran who made her career in films as well as politics, and Sasikala Natarajan, her aide and conscience-keeper.
Jayalalithaa’s relationship with Sasikala has been complex. She has been her long-time friend, who even went to jail with her on two occasions. But even she did not escape Amma’s wrath. Two years ago she sent her husband Natarajan and son to jail. They were let off only after Sasikala pleaded with Jaya to have mercy on her family.
After studying at the prestigious Bishop Cotton’s Girls School in Bengaluru, she came to Madras (now Chennai) to live with her mother and an aunt and continued her education there. Incidentally, her first film was in Kannada. She acted as a child artiste in Sri Shaila Mahatme (1961) which had matinee idol Rajkumar and Krishna Kumari in lead roles. In 1964, when she was just 16 years old, renowned filmmaker BR Panthulu decided to cast her opposite Kalyan Kumar in another Kannada movie Chinnada Gombe.Jayalalithaa the Actor: Films That Mirrored Her Versatility
Jayalalithaa though was more interested in becoming a lawyer. She joined Stella Maris College in Madras, hoping that one day she would become a top lawyer. Fate had other plans. Between 1965 and 1973, she starred in 28 box-office hits with Tamil superstar MG Ramachandran, making them the most popular pair in Tamil cinema. Even though she acted in some Telugu and a Hindi movie called Izzat with Dharmendra, she was mainly a Tamil cinema sensation.
Her mentor MGR, whom she described as a charismatic man with enviable intellect, left the DMK over serious differences with his friend M Karunanidhi to form his own political outfit, the AIADMK, in the early 1970s. Proving all sceptics wrong, MGR rode to power in 1977 and remained in power till his death 11 years later. In 1982, Jaya joined politics and made her famous maiden political speech “Pennin Perumai” (the greatness of a woman) at an AIADMK conference the same year. In 1983, MGR made her AIADMK’s propaganda secretary and fielded her in the by-election from Tiruchendur Assembly seat. A year later she was sent to the Rajya Sabha because of her fluency in English. According to some senior Congress leaders, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi took an instant liking for her because she saw another strong-willed woman in her.
Jayalalithaa’s soaring popularity both within and outside the party caused a lot of heartburn among other senior leaders in the AIADMK and some openly revolted against her alleging that she was blocking access to their beloved MGR. In the 1984 elections, she successfully led the party as MGR was incapacitated due to a stroke. After MGR’s death, the AIADMK split into two and his widow Janaki Ramachandran was made the chief minister with the support of a faction opposed to Jaya. But her government was dismissed by the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in a month.From Crush on Cricketer to Hindi Film Career: Unknown Facts About Jaya
In 1989, claiming to be the political heir of MGR, she successfully contested in the Assembly elections from Bodinayakkanur and became leader of the opposition in the Assembly. In 1989, Jayalalithaa was manhandled inside the Assembly hall by some unruly DMK members. A furious and humiliated Jaya vowed to return to Assembly only as chief minister, which she achieved in 1991. She literally swept the polls by winning 225 seats in the 234 member Assembly.
After that she was on her own. Her first tenure was known for massive corruption and the controversy surrounding her adopted son Sudhakaran’s Rs 100-crore wedding. In 1996, her party was decimated by the DMK, and Jaya was arrested and sent to jail on corruption charges. As she later revealed, she was kept in a vermin-infested jail cell and treated like a common criminal. The same case returned to haunt her till her death. In September 2014, a special court in Bengaluru convicted her and she was sent to Bengaluru jail for a few weeks before being granted bail. The Karnataka High Court later acquitted her in the case, the matter is now with the Supreme Court.'If I Wasn't Tough, They'd Have Said She Failed Because She is a Woman'
In 2001, she again returned to power and had to quit over the Tansi case. After a few months she returned as chief minister. Her party lost the 2006 polls in TN’s revolving chair politics. Her health started failing after that and Jaya was spending more and more time at her tea estate in Kodanadu in the Nilgiris Hills. There was even a talk of Amma retiring from politics. Once again, proving her rivals wrong, she won the 2011 Assembly polls and introduced dozens of pro-poor popular schemes like the Amma Canteen.
Jayalalithaa came back to power in 2016, despite limiting her campaign due to failing health. After becoming CM for a fourth time, she rarely appeared in public and attended the Assembly irregularly.
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