Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu J. Jayalalitha’s death remains a mystery even after 7 years. Jayalalitha, who entered politics from the world of cinema, hated both these things. She was neither interested in acting nor in politics, but wanted to make her career in academia. Jayalalitha shared many interesting things related to her personal life on Simi Garewal’s show Rendezvous.
Training started at age 4: Jayalalithaa says that I gave my first Bharatanatyam performance when I was 12 years old. But I did not agree to this at all. My mother wanted me to become a famous dancer like Yamini Krishnamurthy or Bala Saraswati. That’s why I started training from the age of 4, but I was more interested in pedagogy. If I had progressed in academia I would have done a lot of research and Prof. Like Amartya Sen, I too could have won the Nobel Prize but my destiny had something else written in it.
Jayalalitha recalls, ‘When I turned 16, my mother started pushing me to get into acting. There was a lot of fighting in the house for 3 days. I kept crying. Tried to convince the mother, but she did not change her mind. I could not even run away from home because I was young. Mother explained to me that the number of films she gets has reduced. My grandfather had also retired. Brother’s education was not completed. Under such circumstances, there was no way to run the house. I was stunned when mother told me all these things. Till then I thought we were very rich. After this I started accepting film offers.
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Jayalalithaa was very good at studies. When he left school, he received the “Best Outgoing Student of the Year” award.
Shammi Kapoor was Jayalalitha’s crush: Jayalalitha says I had crushes on two people. The first was Shammi Kapoor. I used to collect his photographs and keep them in my purse. Although I have never met Shammi Kapoor. I love Shammi’s 1961 film ‘Jungal’ and have watched it many times. Another person was a cricketer woman contractor. I used to watch Test matches to get a glimpse of him. She also used to collect his photographs.
In this conversation, Jayalalithaa also recalled her school and college days. She says that when someone abused or taunted me in school or college, I did not respond. She quietly left and went home crying. I have completely changed after joining politics. Now whoever treats me, I do the same. She never spares wrongdoers.
Jayalalithaa gave her first Bharatanatyam performance at the age of 12.
How did you get into politics from cinema? Jayalalitha, who entered the world of cinema through a Kannada film at the age of 16, acted in nearly 300 films. She was the first actress in South cinema to act in a skirt. The pair of Jayalalitha and MG Ramachandran (MGR) was much loved in the 1970s. Later, when MGR became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, he brought Jayalalithaa into politics.
MGR sent Jayalalitha to the Rajya Sabha for the first time in 1984. Jayalalithaa never looked back after this. After MGR’s death, Jayalalithaa took over his political legacy and became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu six times.
MGR brought Jayalalitha into politics.
Why was he buried after death? Jayalalithaa, popularly known as ‘Amma’ among her supporters, died on 5 December 2016. Jayalalitha of Hinduism was buried instead of cremated. According to a BBC report, this was done because of Jayalalitha’s association with the Dravida movement. People belonging to the Dravidian movement do not believe in Hindu traditions and rituals. After Jayalalitha’s death, all kinds of stories and theories came out. A commission of inquiry was formed. The case even reached the doorstep of the court, but even today Jayalalitha’s death remains a mystery.
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Tags: J Jayalalithaa, Shammi Kapoor, Tamil Nadu
First published: September 14, 2023, 14:05 IST