{"id":81377,"date":"2025-02-25T01:11:52","date_gmt":"2025-02-25T05:11:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=81377"},"modified":"2025-02-25T05:27:32","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T09:27:32","slug":"brahmin-boss-lady-jayalalithaa-had-dravidian-party-members-fall-at-her-feet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=81377","title":{"rendered":"Brahmin “Boss Lady” Jayalalithaa Jayaram had “Dravidian” AIADMK Party Members at her Feet Both Metaphorically and Literally."},"content":{"rendered":"

By
\nD.B.S.Jeyaraj<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Ms.Jayalalithaa Jayaram was born on February 24th 1948. This article written in 2023 for the \u201cSpotlight\u201d film affairs column in the \u201cDaily Financial Times\u201d is re-posted here to denote \u201cAmma\u201ds 77th Birth anniversary on 24 Feb 2025)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Tamil Nadu in South India is geographically the closest Indian state to Sri Lanka. Tamil Nadu meaning Tamil country has a population of 72,147,030 according to the 2011 Census. The state has spawned many colourful political personalities. Standing out among these figures is actress -politico Jayalalithaa Jayaram who was elected as Tamil Nadu chief minister four times and served in that position for almost 16 years. The alluring actress turned powerful politician reigned over India\u2019s sixth largest state like a \u2018boss lady\u201d. She also ruled her party the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam(AIADMK) in an autocratic manner.<\/p>\n

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Jayalalithaa Jayaram passed away in December 2016. If the \u201cIron Butterfly\u201d was among the living now, she would have celebrated her 77th birth anniversary on February 24th 2025. It is against this backdrop that this week\u2019s \u201cPolitical Pulse\u201d Column focuses on Jayalalithaa while drawing from my earlier writings about her.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Jayalalithaa led the AIADMK from 1989 until her death in 2016. She was elected four times in general elections as Tamil Nadu Chief minister. She served three full terms in 1991-96, 2001-06 and 2011- 16. However she had to step down as chief minister twice due to legal impediments caused by charges of alleged corruption and acquisition of disproportionate assets against her. She regained her post as chief minister on both occasions.Jayalalithaa was elected chief minister a fourth time in 2016 but fell ill and died a few months later in the same year. Had she not passed away, Jayalalithaa would have definitely been convicted and imprisoned for corruption and forfeited her chief minister post. Death through illness spared her that ignominy.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmma\u201d or \u201cBoss Lady\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Notwithstanding the corruption charges, Jayalalithaa was the sole repository of power in the AIADMK administrations she presided over. AS chief minister, she was in practice the ruling deity of Tamil Nadu. Her followers, supporters and sycophants referred to her respectfully as \u201cAmma\u201d which means both mother and also a superior woman. Amma is both an endearing as well as respectful form of address. In Tamil Nadu under Jayalalithaa rule , there was only one \u201cAmma\u201d and that was her. From state administered cheap food restaurants to privately run cinema halls \u201cAmma\u201dwas the brand name. Cardboard cut-outs and colouful posters hailing \u201cAmma Jayalalithaa\u201d dotted the landscape of Tamil Nadu then . \u201cAmma\u201d or boss lady was omnipresent and omnipotent.<\/p>\n

Jayalalithaa usually kept her party members and supporters at a distance. But when she triumphed at an election Jayalalithaa allowed party members to come up to her and offer their wishes and praises. This they did with gusto in a disgusting exhibition of servile sycophancy. Thousands of supporters crawled before their divine \u201cAmma\u201d and prostrated themselves at her feet. Jayalalithaa had Tamil Nadu at her feet metaphorically and also literally.<\/p>\n

\u201cSelf-respect Movement\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tamil Nadu was once the cradle of the \u201cSuya mariyaathai Iyakkam\u201d or the \u201cSelf \u2013 respect Movement. It was in essence a Dravidian revolt against perceived Aryan dominance in the form of Brahminism. Ironically Dravidian Tamil Nadu fawned at the feet of \u201cPaappaathi\u201d (Brahmin woman) Jayalalithaa without any semblance of self \u2013 respect.<\/p>\n

Srirangam Aiyengaar<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jayalalithaa was born on February 24, 1948 in Mysore in the Karnataka state of today.She is of Tamil Vaishnavite Brahmin Aiyengaar stock hailing from Srirangam in the Trichy district of Tamil Nadu state. Both her paternal and maternal grandparents relocated to the state of Karnataka which was formerly known as Mysore. Her paternal grandfather was Dr. Narasimhan Rangachary who served as the court physician to Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, who reigned as the Maharajah of Mysore from 1894 to 1940. Her maternal grandfather Rengasamy Aiyengar worked at Hindustan Aeronautics in Bangalore now Bengaluru..<\/p>\n

Jayalalithaa\u2019s father Jayaram was a wastrel who squandered the family fortune away through gambling and betting. He died when Jayalalithaa was two. Jayalalithaa\u2019s widowed mother Vedavalli, turned to acting in films for a living. She adopted the screen name Sandhya.<\/p>\n

Jayalalithaa herself was born in Melukote in the Pandavapura division of Mandya district in Karnataka. She was given her grandmother\u2019s name Koamalavalli at the time of birth. The name Jayalalithaa was adopted later when she became an actress.. It was derived from the names of two houses where she had resided in Mysore. One was \u201cJaya Vilas\u201d and the other \u201cLalitha Vilas\u201d. Her name was originally spelled with one \u2018a\u2019 at the end. Later another \u2018a\u2019 was added for numerological reasons. Jayalalitha became Jayalalithaa. However, she was widely known by her pet name \u201cAmmu\u201d. In later years \u201cAmmu\u201d gave way to \u201cAmma,\u201d<\/p>\n

Proud of her Tamil Ethnicity<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since she was born in Karnataka there are many who think Jayalalithaa is a Kannadiga. She is however a \u201cThamizhachi\u201d (Tamil woman), fiercely proud of her Tamil ethnicity and Tamil Nadu roots.An incident that occurred decades ago when Jayalalithaa was a film star without any involvement in politics illustrates both her courage and pride in being Tamil.<\/p>\n

It was the year 1970. Jayalalithaa had agreed to perform with her dance troupe at an exhibition held at Bengaluru (then Bangalore) in Karnataka. Due to her shooting schedule going awry, Jayalalithaa had to cancel the performance at the last minute. This led to Vatal Nagaraj, the leader of a Karnataka-based political outfit known as the \u201cKannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha,\u201d issuing a statement condemning her for cancelling the event despite being a Kannadiga woman.<\/p>\n

Vatal Nagaraj, a Kannadiga chauvinist, was a dreaded figure in Karnataka like Bal Thackeray of the Shiv Sena was in Maharashtra state. In spite of Vatal Nagaraj\u2019s fearsome reputation, Jayalalithaa responded bravely by issuing a statement contradicting him.<\/p>\n

Jayalalithaa said though born in Karnataka she was a Tamil and not a Kannadiga. An infuriated Nagaraj then warned her not to set foot again on Karnataka soil. Jayalalithaa replied that if and when necessary she would set foot on Karnataka soil.<\/p>\n

A few weeks later Jayalalithaa was at the Premier Studio in Bangalore where the shooting of the film \u2018Ganga Gowri\u2019 was taking place. The director was the famous Kannadiga filmmaker B.R. Panthulu.. A gang of thuggish activists from Vatal Nagaraj\u2019s outfit got to know of this and invaded the studio premises. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am not a Kannada woman. I am a Tamil Woman\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The mob surrounded Jayalalithaa and demanded that she withdraw her statement of being a Tamil woman and apologise to the people of Karnataka.Jayalalithaa was defiant. She refused to do so and kept repeating, \u201cI am not a Kannada woman. I am a Tamil Woman\u201d to the mob that had encircled her. It was with great difficulty that members of the film crew, studio workers and media personnel prevented the goondas from assaulting the unflinching actress.<\/p>\n

Finally the Police arrived and dispersed the mob. Jayalalithaa however remained unbowed and unafraid to the very end.<\/p>\n

This incident happened when Jayalalithaa was not engaged in politics or entertained any political ambition. Jayalalithaa reiterating her Tamilness even in the face of danger was therefore not a political stunt but a genuine reaction that reflected her inherent courage and Tamil consciousness.<\/p>\n

In later life several of her political opponents tried to portray her as a Kannada woman in a cheap ruse to alienate her from voters in Tamil Nadu. This did not work. <\/p>\n

Church Park Convent<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jayalalithaa studied at Church Park Convent in Chennai. She passed her SSLC\/Matriculation exams with flying colours. Her marks were the second highest in the state. Entitled to a merit scholarship, Jayalalithaa obtained admission to Stella Maris College in Madras to follow PUC classes when the academic term began. But life changed when she got offers to act in films. Although Jayalalithaa wanted to pursue her studies and become a lawyer, her mother wanted her to take up a film career as the family was in dire financial straits. The daughter was asked to make the correct choice. After a long night of deep thought Jayalalithaa conveyed her decision in the morning. It was adieu to studies.<\/p>\n

Uncrowned Queen of Tamil Cinema<\/strong><\/p>\n

Very few people looking at her rotund appearance of later years would be able to imagine the time when Jayalalithaa was slim and lissom. That she was and a ravishing beauty too. All one has to do is to view a DVD of one of her movies. As an actress, Jayalalithaa was the uncrowned queen of Tamil cinema during the mid-\u201960s to the mid-\u201970s of the last century, the dream girl of many a teenager and the favourite pin-up star of many fans. As an actress Jayalalithaa sparkled on the silver screen. She acted in 142 films from 1964 to 1980 in the Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi and English languages. Of these 77 films ran for over 100 days and 18 for more than 25 weeks. Her last feature film in Tamil was \u2018Nadhiyai Thedi Vandha Kadal\u2019.<\/p>\n

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Jayalalithaa\u2019s first Tamil film \u2018Vennira Aadai\u2019 made history even before it was released by getting an \u2018A\u2019 certificate as an adults only film. Apparently the Film Certification Board was upset by some shots of Jayalalithaa bathing and dancing in the film. The movie when released ran successfully for over a hundred days in several theatres. Jayalalithaa got rave reviews. Thousands became her fans overnight. A star was born! A fragrant sign of this stardom was in posing for advertisements extolling the virtues of Lux soap.<\/p>\n

Jayalalithaa\u2019s second Tamil film was \u2018Aayirathil Oruvanor\u2019 where she first played the leading lady to MG Ramachandran known as MGR. It was a block buster. MGR was 48 years old and Jayalalithaa only 17. Despite the 31-year age difference the pair hit it off grandly on screen. More films followed and the duo made 28 films together in nine years. Almost every film was a commercial success. The jewel in the crown was \u2018Adimai Penn\u2019 or slave girl with Jayalalithaa in a dual role. The film released in 1969 was produced by MGR himself.<\/p>\n

Creamy, Croony Voice<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was in this film that Jayalalithaa sang in her own voice for the first time on screen. It so happened that MGR once heard Jayalalithaa singing softly by herself and felt she sang well. So a solo was given to her in \u2018Adimai Penn\u2019. The song \u2018Amma Endraal Anbu\u2019 was written by lyricist Vaali and music composed by K.V. Mahadevan. She had a creamy, croony voice and the song got popular. She sang in her own voice in some other films too. Jayalalithaa\u2019s first screen song began with the word \u201cAmma\u201dYears later millions of supporters started calling her \u201cAmma\u201d!<\/p>\n

Love of MGR\u2019s Life<\/strong><\/p>\n

The immensely-popular MGR had a network of fan clubs known as Rasikar Mandram. Though several actresses have paired with MGR, it was Jayalalithaa who captured the hearts of his fans. MGR\u2019s wife Janaki was called \u201cAnni,\u201d meaning wife of the elder brother by fans, who also referred to Jayalalithaa as \u201cSinna (small) Anni\u201d. MGR himself was infatuated with her. Though they never formally married, Jayalalithaa was regarded as the love of MGR\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

In spite of her unofficial liaison with MGR, the actor to whom Jayalalithaa was linked romantically was Telugu actor Sobhan Babu. He was however married and refused to divorce his wife formally and marry Jayalalithaa. Once when a Tamil magazine had a gossip article about this relationship, Jayalalithaa wrote an open letter to the publication in which she stated that both of them were in love and would marry if and when Sobhan Babu divorced his wife. That never happened and Jayalalithaa remained single and was referred to as \u201cSelvi\u201d or unmarried woman.<\/p>\n