Today, as the 75th birthday of late former Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha is celebrated, let’s take a look at her life in the film industry in this compilation.
Jayalalithaa made her debut as an actress in Tamil cinema in the 1960s. Having lost his father Jayaraman at an early age, his mother Vedavalli stood by him as a pillar. Jayalalitha’s family settled in Chennai and started acting in films under the name ‘Sandhya’, her mother. Jayalalitha, who started her education at Church Park School in Chennai, excelled in studies. Having learned art along with education, he studied and excelled in Bharatanatyam. Jayalalithaa captivated everyone with her dance to such an extent that the school’s artistic events were never complete without her dance performances. No one would have expected her to be a great heroine in the acting world as she is fond of dancing.
His debut film in Tamil was the film ‘Vennira Akasai’ released in 1965. Directed by Sridhar, this movie can be said to be a cinematic visiting card not only for Jayalalitha but also for many important actors like White Dress Murthy and White Dress Nirmala. Although Jayalalitha’s Tamil debut was ‘Vennira Akasai’, before that two films CHINNADA GOMBE and MANE ALIYA were released in Kannada. As her interest in acting grew, Jayalalitha started making a name for herself by giving many performances in stage plays. The movie ‘Under Secretary’, where she starred opposite her mother, earned her accolades.
Jayalalitha got a mass opening in Tamil cinema due to the success of ‘Vennira Adaisha’. In fact, Jayalalitha was signed to act in 23 films in that one year alone. In Appatial, MGR’s ‘Airathil Oruvan’ has become a classic hit. ‘Airathil Oruvan’, which became a huge hit, created a new chapter in Tamil cinema. After that, all the films that Jayalalitha acted with MGR got immense response. In the next 8 years, 28 films in which the two acted together became mega hits and set records at the box office. Not only MGR but Jayalalitha, who gave hits along with prominent actors including Jaishankar and Muthuraman, became the inevitable heroine of the film industry.
Jayalalitha’s films with the leading star of Telugu cinema NTR and others got a great response just like Tamil. Sivaji’s films with Ganesan, like those with MGR, became hits. Jayalalithaa and Sivaji acted in 17 films together. The film ‘Pattikada Pattanama’ starring both of them won the National Award. Jayalalitha also bagged the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in the same film. Jayalalithaa also received Filmfare awards for films like ‘Chandrodayam’, ‘Adimaip Pen’ and ‘Enkrindo Vandal’.
Jayalalitha was also honored with awards from the Tamil Nadu government for films including ‘Thanga Gopuram’, ‘Raman Desiya Sita’, ‘Thirumangalyam’ and ‘Suriyakanthi’. What is more special is that Thirumangalyam is his 100th film. Jayalalitha, who was traveling only as an actress till then, sang 3 songs in the film and also appeared as a singer. Although the movie ‘Thirumangalyam’ gave him a new breakthrough in his film career, it was ‘Adimaippenn’, which he starred in with MGR, that brought him a unique popularity for the song.
In cinema, Jayalalithaa has many achievements as an actress. If a film runs for more than 25 weeks in theaters, it is called Silver Jubilee. Thus, out of 92 films in which Jayalalitha acted as heroine in Tamil cinema, more than 85 films became silver jubilee hits. More than 25 films in which he acted in not only Tamil but also Telugu cinema have joined the silver jubilee hit list. Jayalalitha became a successful heroine in the history of South Indian cinema, which started the black and white era. From her debut in 1965 until she left cinema in 1980 to join politics, she was the highest-paid superstar.
Jayalalitha, who achieved many achievements in cinema, stopped focusing on the film industry in 1980 with the movie ‘Nadiiyiya Vanda Kadal’. After a gap of 2 years, Jayalalitha joined the AIADMK in 1982 and started her political journey. Even though Jayalita left the world, who made a mark not only in cinema but also in politics, she will live on forever in the hearts of her fans through the time machine of cinema.
– Punita Balaji
