Jayalalithaa’s Journey In Tamil Cinema

Former TN CM J Jayalalithaa, who passed away recently, was a well-known actress of South Indian film industry in the 1960’s. Here, we take you through Jayalalithaaa's journey in films.

By Malini Kandaswamy

The Iron Lady of Tamilnadu, she was called. Jayalalithaa's awe-inspiring political career would not have been possible without the exemplary persona she scripted on screen. She was multi-faceted, performing with aplomb in mythological films, period-dramas or modern social genres. Jayalalithaa's stellar acting legacy is evident by more than 25 awards for her performances, by FilmFare, Tamilnadu State Government and Russian Film Festival.

Born in 1948, her cinema career began in 1961. Y.G.Parthasarathy recommended Jayalalithaa for her first as well as an English movie, Epistle, by Shankar V. Giri.

Here we take you through her journey in Tamil cinema..

Chinnada Gombe

Chinnada Gombe

Her first movie that garnered her praise and recognition was Chinnada Gombe , Kannada movie with Rajkumar in the lead role.

Vennira Aadai

Vennira Aadai

Jayalalithaaa entered into Tamil cinema through director, C V Sridhar's Vennira aadai. Even though Jayalalithaa was not the ‘heroine', the story revolved around her character, Shoba. Jayalalithaa carried away the movie with her heart-melting performance as a traumatized, pitiable young widow who falls in love with her therapist (Sridhar). The movie jump-started her reign as the on-screen goddess of Tamil cinema.

Aayirathil Oruvan

Aayirathil Oruvan

Immediately after her Tamil debut, Jayalalithaa was signed in to star opposite M G Ramachandran(MGR) in Aayirathil Oruvan, a blockbuster hit directed by B R Panthalu. Their chemistry in the movie started the saga of MGR- Jayalalithaaa combine which delivered 28 hit films in total. MGR even paired with her for his hundredth movie, Oli Vilakku.

Mottar Sundaram Pillai

Mottar Sundaram Pillai

Mottar Sundaram Pillai was Jayalalithaa's first film with Shivaji Ganesan in which was cast as his daughter. Later, they went on to make 17 films together. Other memorable films of theirs are Galatta Kalyanam and Deivamagan, which has the distinction of being the first Tamil film to be submitted for Academy Award nomination in Foreign Language Film category.

Yaarukkum Vetkam llai

Yaarukkum Vetkam llai

Jayalalithaa also played the lead role in Cho Ramasamy's bold and shocking directorial venture, Yaarukkum Vetkam llai. She portrayed a woman cheated by her lover, who tries to live beyond that experience. The movie created quite a stir and the songs became famous.

Suryakanthi

Suryakanthi

Jayalalithaa played a career-oriented woman whose success generates egotistical clash with her sensitive, not-so-successful life-partner played by R Muthuraman. Even though her character has to realize her mistake and submit to her husband at the end, it was a movie that reflected the male-female family equation of that time.

Yaar Nee

Yaar Nee

This horror movie by produced by P.S.Veerappa has Jayalalithaa play dual roles, one of which is a ghost. Jaishankar starred opposite her in this enjoyable thriller. The haunting melody, "Naane varuven" is still a people favorite.

Pattikaada Pattanama

Pattikaada Pattanama

This Shivaji Ganesan starrer had a resemblance to Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, only adapted to the local culture and audience. Jayalalithaa played a modern character arriving from abroad, who finds it difficult to accept and respect the land's culture. In the end, she is made to realize the importance of traditional ways and finds happiness with the hero. Jayalalithaa essayed the role with perfect style and attitude. It won her a Filmfare award in 1972.

Known for her versatility and dancing skills, She gave 11 blockbusters in the year 1966 alone and garnered the title of ‘Kavarchi kanni'. The last Tamil film with Jayalalithaa in the lead was Nadhiyai Thedi Vandha Kadal (1980).

In Other Languages..

Jayalalithaa debuted in Telugu alongside Akkineni Nagaswara Rao, in Manashulu Mamathulu. Incidentally, her last Telugu film as lead actress was also with him in Nayakudy Vinayakudu (1980), which was a phenomenal hit. She starred in 29 Telugu films, all of which were instant blockbuster hits.

Her Sri Krishna Satya (1973), with N T Rama Rao was a grand mythological drama film that brought her FilmFare award .

Jayalalithaa also acted in 6 Kannada films, 2 Hindi films and one in Malayalam, Jesus which was a blockbuster hit. Her on-screen performances total around 140, including some movies in which she made guest appearances.

The unparalleled acting history that she scripted was probably a prelude to her era of political reign and legacy that was yet to come.

Read more about: jayalalithaa tamil movies

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