Jayalalithaa on the silver screen: From Vennira Aadai to Aayirathil Oruvan, here's a lowdown

Before she rose to political prominence, J Jayalalithaa was among the leading actresses of the day. She acted in hundreds of films — the count stands at something like 140 — opposite heroes like MG Ramachandran (MGR) and Sivaji Ganesan (years later, her foster son VN Sudhakaran would be married to Ganesan’s granddaughter Sathyalakshmi), spanning Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and even Malayalam cinema. This includes her rare forays outside the South Indian film industry, which included the English language Epistle (released in 1966, directed by former Indian President VV Giri’s son Shankar Giri) and her Hindi film Izzat (1968), in which she starred with Dharmendra. While no list of her best-known roles can claim to be the most comprehensive one by a long shot — her roles were simply far too many and diverse — here’s a lowdown on some of her milestone films. Chinnada Gombe (1964) This Kannada film marked Jayalalithaa’s silver screen debut and was directed and produced by BR Panthulu. Jaya was only 15 at the time and was juggling her classes along with the film’s shoot. One of the songs from the film — ‘Sevanthige Chendinantha’ — is considered an all-time classic.

Vennira Aadai (1965) This was her first Tamil film and featured Jayalalithaa as a young woman troubled by a traumatic incident from her past. She falls in love with the psychiatrist (who her parents consult), in the course of undergoing therapy. A love triangle with a poignant end, the film arguably set Jaya on the path to superstardom. It was also the ’launch’ of her other co-stars: Sreekanth, Nirmala and Moorthy; although the film sparked some controversy because it received an ‘A’ certificate from the censors, on account of scenes that featured Jaya ‘bathing and dancing’.

Aayirathil Oruvan (1965) In a ’throwback’ review for Aayirathil Oruvan, Baradwaj Rangan wrote in The Hindu: “To watch Aayirathil Oruvan on the big screen is to go back in time, to an age when no one knew what a multiplex was, and the spit-stained theatre near your home played reruns of old movies all the time (one in the noon-show slot, another one in the regular shows)… To watch Aayirathil Oruvan is to be reminded of how new the concept of colour once was, and how delirious filmmakers were at the prospect of splashing it across the screen…” The film featured Jayalalithaa as Poongodi, a princess, and MGR as a doctor, and marked the start of their long professional and personal collaboration.

Chandrodhayam (1966) Another MGR-Jayalalithaa starrer, Chandrodhayam was inspired by the 1934 film It Happened One Night (Bollywood would later remake it as Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin). Jaya played the spoilt, lovely heiress who runs away from home, only to be abandoned by her lover — and finds a companion on the road in a reporter, who may have his own secret agenda (MGR).

Thirumangalyam (1974) Thirumangalyam marked an important milestone in Jayalalithaa’s filmography — it was her 100th movie, and earned her a State Film Award for ‘Best Actress’. It also starred Muthuraman.

Neenga Nalla Irukkanum (1992) This was among Jayalalithaa’s last films — already the Chief Minister for Tamil Nadu, she made a small appearance as herself (the film was sponsored by the state government, to spread the message of prohibition). Neenga Nalla Irukkanum was honoured with a National Film Award. Yaar Nee?, Nee, Kandan Karunai, Adimai Penn, Thanga Gopuram, Jesus, Vandhale Magaraasi, Ganga Gowri Jayalalithaa portrayed double roles in no fewer than eight films, among them super hits like Yaar Nee? and the award-winning Vandhale Magaraasi. Adimai Penn marked Jaya’s singing debut as well. And it was while shooting for Ganga Gowri in Bengaluru that the infamous incident in which Jaya was heckled and mobbed for saying, “I am a Tamil woman, not a Kannada woman” took place. She refused to back down from her statement despite threats to her person.