The late Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu was laid to rest on December 6 at Marina beach alongside the resting place of her mentor and legend MG Ramachandran. As fascinating was her life, there were many facts about her that many of us have no idea about.
As the state mourns the most admired ‘Amma’ we list out some of these facts in memory of her unforgettable life.
- A young and talented actress that she was, almost every top filmmaker was lining up to cast her. One of the most successful movies that Jayalalithaa rejected was Rajinikanth’s ‘Billa’. The former actress wrote down a letter to a Journalist stating that she was offered the role which she denied and it later went to Sri Priya. Rajinikanth and Jayalaithaa undoubtedly would have broken all the records on the big screen. Check out the letter below.
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2. Jayalalithaa’s first movie as the lead was ‘Vennira Aadai’ which topped headlines for its ‘A Certificate’. The then teenager wasn’t able to watch her first movie as a lead actress because she was still under 18.
3. Guess what? The gorgeous South star acted in a Bollywood movie opposite Dhrmendra. The movie, Izzat was a huge hit, however, Jayalalithaa decided to focus on her South Indian movie career and hasn’t acted in any Bollywood movie ever since. Dharmendra remembered his one month long shooting schedule in Kulu Manali with the late star.
4. As a Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa refused to take a salary, stating that she had enough money and didn’t want a pay check. However, since she was advised that a public servant needs to b paid, she accepted a pay check of Rs. 1. This move instantly appealed to the masses and she was known as a humble Chief Minister.
5. The ‘people’s CM’ famously took part in the public ‘snana’ during the Mahamakam festival in Kumbakonam. The news of the arrival of the Chief Minister caused a stampede and more than 50 people lost their lives.
6. Jayalalithaa was not only a well-trained Bharatnatyam dancer, but also a Kuchipudi, Mohiniyattam and a Kathak dancer.
7. The education-lover excelled in her school and was also awarded the gold state ward for standing first in her 10th standard. She wanted to pursue law, however she was pushed into movies.
8. After securing consecutive hits, Jayalalithaa was the highest paid actress between 1964-1980. In the year 1966 alone, she acted in 11 movies which were all blockbusters.
9. She acted in over 125 movies and played a double role in 8 of them. She still holds the record of being the only Tamil actress to have had so many double roles.
10. When Jaya was cast opposite the legendary MGR, she was only 17 years-old whereas he was 48. What people didn’t know is that MGR’s wife Janaki Ramachandran recommended Jayalalithaa to the film crew.