Remembering Amma (1948-2016)

Although her foray into the limelight was unplanned and reluctant, J Jayalalithaa’s career was nothing short of extraordinary—sometimes even more dramatic than a film script. Neeti Jaychander looks back at the lesser-known side of one of India’s most formidable politicians.

- Neeti Jaychander

When one looks back on the dramatic and tumultuous film and political career of J Jayalalithaa, one tends to remember her as autocratic, enigmatic and private. Despite her elusive nature, she exuded a charisma that endeared her to the masses. But one just had to scratch the veneer of that self assured aura to discover glimpses of the person she was, and could have been if her life’s choices had been different. For instance, she was the only chief minister to insist on withdrawing a salary of just Re. 1 every month during her tenure, saying she had enough income sources. Whether it was a calculated decision or not, Amma, as people came to know her, had won hearts. In his 1997 film Iruvar loosely based on Tamil politics, filmmaker Mani Ratnam attempted to lay bare this mix of childlike idealism and shrewdness that defined the essence of Jayalalithaa.

Childhood memories

Srimathi, Jayalalithaa’s classmate and close friend until she joined politics, has many anecdotes about their student days. She recalls in author Vaasanthi’s book Amma: Jayalalithaa’s Journey From Movie Star To Political Queen, “Jayalalithaa used to say she’d join the IAS or do medicine. She had great hopes for her academic future.” Jayalalithaa often told Srimathi that she did not like the film world and that the men there were crude and stared at her lustfully. “She was very keen on joining college. But before the admissions started, she was by some quirk of fate already knee deep in the film world and was busy shooting Aayirathil Oruvan...”

Tryst with celluloid