“I am human like everyone else, I do experience emotions and I wouldn’t be normal if I didn’t experience feelings of anger or any other emotion. But, when you are a leader, you learn to control your emotions. You learn not to show them openly. You have to.
Jayaram Jayalalithaa, a prominent political leader, and six times CM of Tamil Nadu, was born in a Tamil Iyengar Brahmin family in 1948. Breaking conventional norms, she was a path breaker in many ways and her story to fame and politics and nothing less than inspiring. Amma, as she was popularly known, was not brought up traditionally and had a childhood filled with struggles.
At a young age of two, her father died, putting the family through financial woes. At the behest of her mother, she joined the film industry at a very young age of 15, although she wanted to pursue further studies. A trained dancer, she worked across 140 films in Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu languages. She even won Filmfare awards for her outstanding performances. Despite starting her career in films, she entered politics in 1982 as a member of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). She served as a Rajya Sabha Member from 1984 to 1989. After the death of M. G. Ramachandran (MGR), the founder of AIADMK, she assumed the position of the leader of the party, although initially it was split with MGR’s wife.
“I have come here as the representative of the weaker sections of our society, the toiling masses, the crores of humble workers, farmers, poor agricultural labourers and women, to give oral manifestation to their feelings, aspirations and legitimate desires and make them known to the rest of the country.”
Although she was a Brahmin by birth, she worked equally for other castes and Dalits. With an unbeatable charisma, her political career was full of laurels with her followers going gaga over her work. She was a part of controversies too, with corruption charges and illegal property charges. However, during his tenure as CM, authorities managed to hunt down the notorious bandit Veerappan. Such was his popularity, that within a range of fourteen years, she became CM for 6 times. She introduced the “Cradle Baby Scheme”, a move to prevent female feticide.
Her life story has been adapted into many works of art, including series and movies, the latest being the movie Thalaivii, starring Kangana Ranaut. Her transformation from a young girl full of dreams to a great political leader is definitely an offbeat story.
“It’s not true that when you are in politics you grow a thick skin. It never happens. If you are sensitive, you stay sensitive till the end of your life. If you are hyper sensitive like I am, you feel the pain magnified…and then to have to face slander and the terrible distorted image that has been created of me in the media – because that’s not me!”