Jayalalithaa Was Truly MGR’s Heir To Stardom, The Throne And His Magnanimity

He was a star, an unparalleled one, someone who went on to write a whole new chapter in Tamil Nadu’s history, and she, his heir to the stardom, the political throne and his magnanimity.

M G Ramachandran, or MGR as he is known, and J Jayalalithaa’s lives turned around the fate of Tamil Nadu and how. Author R Kannan in his book ‘MGR: A Life’ chronicles the life of the most magnanimous superstar-turned-politician.

The party he founded, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is today struggling to hold its ground as its two factions tear the two leaves apart. Tamil Nadu today struggles to find a way out of the political whirlpool that got triggered after the demise of its beloved ‘Amma’.

It was different when MGR passed away. As the book says, “J. Jayalalithaa, MGR’s protege and political heir, said she wished to commit ‘sati’ now that MGR who ‘was everything to [her]’ was no more”. Such was their camaraderie. Here is an excerpt that looks at the bond that the two shared.

MGR came to fill her mother, Sandhya’s, shoes after her death. Jayalalithaa wrote about a time when she had been unwell for two – three days, at the end of which she fainted at home on the sofa. The only man at home, her uncle, was out of town and her two aunts did not know how to respond. Jayalalithaa’s manager telephoned MGR for help. MGR called for a doctor and came over to Jayalalithaa’s place. The doctor wanted Jayalalithaa to be hospitalised and MGR asked the aunts to get ready.

As the aunts did not come down, MGR decided to see for himself what was keeping them. What he saw was the sad spectacle of the aunts fighting over the house keys. An angry MGR took the keys from them and asked them to come downstairs.

It took some hours for Jayalalithaa to regain consciousness at the hospital. MGR was patiently waiting around all this time at her bedside and when she woke up, she did so in MGR’s presence. MGR handed over the house keys to her. She learnt of the circumstances only later.

‘I will always remember this act with gratitude. Who would have taken such trouble? He wanted to protect me, and he guarded them and handed them over to me. If not, I don’t know what all would have been lost! I cannot even imagine it,’ wrote a grateful Jayalalithaa.

Karnan’s (1964) director B.R. Panthulu offered Jayalalithaa a role in Chinnada Gombe (Gold Doll, 1964). Seeing the ‘rushes’ director C.V. Sridhar signed her up for his Vennira Aadai (White Dress, 1965), which became her debut Tamil film. Panthulu also signed up Jayalalithaa for Aayirathial Oruvan, as heroine opposite MGR.

MGR was shooting for Panam Padaithavan in the same studio that Vennira Aadai was being made. He entered the sets of Vennira Aadai one day and Jayalalithaa wrote that she was not aware that she had to greet the hero. Director Sridhar beckoned Jayalalithaa over and told her: ‘MGR has come. You are to act in his film . . . He is a big hero.Go greet him and talk to him.’ As Jayalalithaa folded her hands to say ‘vanakkam’, MGR motioned her to sit down. Jayalalithaa wrote that she did not remember what she was asked or what her response was.

She recalled seeing MGR as a young girl with her mother at the sets of Baghdad Thirudan (The Thief of Baghdad, 1960). The second occasion was when she performed at Loyola College, Madras. MGR, the guest, gave away his watch to the student mimic who had performed before Jayalalithaa, but had nothing for Jayalalithaa the danseuse. He sent someone to fetch a silver cup and presented it to her. Aayirathil Oruvan was only the third occasion. She would say later that the movie ‘laid the base for [her] political life’.

MGR saw the rushes of Chinnada Gombe. Behind him and the director sat Jayalalithaa and her mother, Sandhya. After seeing the rushes, MGR turned to Panthulu and said ‘Okay’ and left immediately. He had come in between a shoot and was still made up.

In the first scene in Aayirathil Oruvan, instead of thanking MGR for having freed her, Jayalalithaa’s character scorns him thus: ‘You have bought me, making me a slave worth 2 lakhs.’ As Jayalalithaa did the shot without any inhibition, MGR told her: ‘You remind me of Bhanumathi madam. After a long time, I see her courage, spirit, enthusiasm and zest.’ Jayalalithaa said ‘Many thanks’ in response.

Jayalalithaa would usually go in before the others, be seated next to the director and read a book, and sometimes, she would even cross her legs. No one had taught her to stand up and greet MGR or the others on their arrival. Two or three days went by like this. But later, some busybody drew MGR’s attention to this fact, persuading him that the behaviour was indifferent, if not disrespectful.

MGR appears to have spoken to Panthulu, who spoke to Sandhya, who in turn spoke to her daughter. Jayalalithaa grew upset, and said she would rather go back to college and quit acting. The following day, Jayalalithaa refused to come out of her room. Nambiar and MGR had already arrived at the set. As Sandhya enlisted Panthulu for help, he came home to plead: ‘I am older and ask you to do this for me.’ Jayalalithaa then said, ‘I will do it for you.’

After this, greeting MGR became a preoccupation for her. Sometimes MGR went directly to the shot. Jayalalithaa would go over, hang around to catch his eye so that she could quickly wish him and return to her seat.

On their first shoot for the song Naanamo (Are you shy?), she was to lie down on MGR, who was seated on a bed. It was their first night as per the movie. She said that until then no man had ever embraced her.

The bed and the embrace made her shake involuntarily. MGR, who sensed that it was because of his embrace, asked her, ‘Why? Why this much weakness? Why so much nervousness?’

She also possessed a strong fighting spirit. When the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) refused her membership, saying no woman had been independently given membership – only wives, daughters or siblings of males had been admitted – Jayalalithaa said that her father died when she was a year old and she could not bring him back to life for the sake of the membership nor could she marry just to become a member. ‘Just because I don’t have a dad or a husband, how could you refuse me the membership?’ Of course she became the first woman member of the TNCA.

MGR appears to have been greatly fascinated by this brilliant convent-educated girl, who was indifferent to his superstar status, and the relationship proved most intense on and off screen.

She described their bond thus:

Our relationship is very peculiar. Although he is so much older than me, every spare moment on the sets we would spend talking to each other, discussing every subject under the sun. We used to talk about science, philosophy, literature. Both of us are deeply interested in classical music, astrology and astronomy. We have so much in common.

Among other things, they shared the same determination, charisma, crowd-pulling capability, and an interest in film and politics. But they were also very different, as time showed. While on the sets of Raman Thediya Seethai (Sita that Ram Sought, 1972), MGR, reading Jayalalithaa’s palm, told her that she would enter politics.

‘Me? In politics? No way,’ said Jayalalithaa. ‘Write it down, Ammu [Jayalalithaa]. My words will surely come true,’ he replied. Little did MGR know then that he would be the one to make those words come true.

In Arasa Kattalai (King’s Command, 1967), Jayalalithaa had aptly acknowledged in advance MGR’s future mentor status thus through Vaali’s song:

He is the one who made me sing
He is the hero of my song…
He is a man without blemish
He is a god without a temple*

Excerpted from MGR: A Life by R Kannan by Penguin Random House India, 2017, with the permission of the publisher.