Jayalalithaa Biography: MGR Swept Her Up In His Arms

'R.M. Veerappan had an antipathy towards Jayalalithaa that had no basis at all,' said Films News Anandan. 'She was definitely not flirtatious or pushy in her behaviour towards MGR or any producer. She was very disciplined and maintained her dignity.'

But MGR openly demonstrated that he had a soft corner for Jayalalithaa. He insisted that she should be cast opposite him in all his films. When RMV refused, MGR kept him waiting for shoots and delayed the production indefinitely. When Jayalalithaa was shooting with MGR for Adimaippen in the Thar desert, she was the slave girl and the shot required her to be barefoot. As all the other members of the unit were in their shoes they did not realize that the sand was getting hotter by the minute. After a while a barefoot Jayalalithaa could no longer endure the burning sand and noticing her discomfort MGR ordered the unit to pack up. But Jayalalithaa's ordeal did not end there. She had to walk a long distance to the car park. 'It was sheer hell,' she said in an interview later. 'I couldn't put a step forward and I was on the verge of collapse. I never said a word, but MGR must have sensed my agony. He suddenly came from behind and swept me up in his arms. He is a hero off screen too.'

There was yet another incident which left her eternally grateful to him. After a bout of drastic dieting Jayalalithaa fainted at home. Her manager contacted MGR, who arrived promptly and arranged for her to be taken to a nursing home. The departure was delayed as everyone was waiting for Jayalalithaa's aunts who were staying in her house to accompany her to the hospital. MGR went in and found them in her bedroom fighting over who would take control of Jayalalithaa's keys. MGR took the keys away from them - and handed them to a groggy Jayalalithaa when she recovered consciousness in the nursing home. While the incident which revealed that she could not trust her own family members was a psychological blow, MGR's tender concern for her well-being touched her deeply, all the more so because her mother had died, leaving her feeling alone and orphaned at the age of twenty-one.

When she had to travel by road at night MGR would arrange for an escort vehicle. After a stonethrowing incident at Jayalalithaa's house, he is said to have ordered a special contingent of security personnel to be posted at her house.

The tumultuous ups and downs in her relationship with MGR started in the early 1970s when MGR increasingly began to act with younger heroines like Latha and Manjula, thanks to the dogged perseverance of RMV. MGR also got preoccupied with politics as he was the DMK party treasurer in Karunanidhi's government. Then serious differences arose between him and Karunanidhi, but according to RMV even this was because of Jayalalithaa's influence.

MGR and Karunanidhi had once been close. When C.N. Annadurai died Nedunjezhian, the senior-most, was expected to succeed him. But MGR strongly recommended Karunanidhi's name and through his influence over party workers got him elected to the post. Karunanidhi, however, threatened by MGR's popularity, cleverly excluded him when he formed the cabinet and made him the treasurer of the DMK party.

Film News Anandan, who was closely associated with Jayalalithaa as her PRO at that time (she was the first south Indian actor to appoint a PRO on a regular salary), believed that people around MGR were jealous of her fame and proximity to MGR. 'I know when I was her PRO, MGR's car would come to fetch her at one o'clock in the afternoon. She would go for an hour and come back.' Jayalalithaa was then building her house in Poes Garden. When it was complete, the entire film industry turned up for the house-warming function except for MGR. Everyone was surprised at his absence because rumours about their liaison abounded.

Anandan said, 'Next morning she had to go to Kashmir for shooting. She boards the plane and finds MGR in the next seat! MGR also had a shooting schedule in Kashmir, but Jayalalithaa was acting with Sivaji Ganesan in another film. The two locations were 40 miles apart. But after reaching Kashmir MGR took her along with him and would send her to her shooting location 40 miles away. Jayalalithaa could have had no say in the matter. If MGR says something, it had to be done.'

But after a while Jayalalithaa found MGR overbearing and dominating. He started controlling all her activities including the clothes she wore. He even took control over her finances and she had to depend on his good mood for its release. She felt stifled and wanted to break free.

A major clash occurred between the two when she refused to go with him to Singapore. Anandan narrated, 'She used to give solo dance performances and also prepare dance dramas. She had prepared a very ambitious dance drama named Kaveri Thantha Kalaichchelvi, which was so popular that she had invitations to perform it from all over the world. She made plans for a world trip and gave dates to everyone. Everything was finalized and even the advance money received. At that time there was a world Tamil conference organized in Singapore. MGR was the chief guest, and he asked Jayalalithaa to go with him, suggesting that she could proceed on her world trip from there. Jayalalithaa refused, even though MGR was then the chief minister. MGR insisted that she go with him and defied her to go on the world trip without his permission. She was so upset and so angry that she cancelled the entire trip and paid all the artistes their dues. She even dissolved the dance troupe. She did not want to beg MGR for permission.'

Excerpted with permission of Juggernaut Books from Amma: Jayalalithaa's Journey from Movie Star to Political Queen available in bookstores and on Juggernaut.