Hyderabad: February 24 marks the 75th birth anniversary of Jayaram Jayalalithaa, referred to as the Iron lady of Tamil Nadu. The actor-turned-politician had always been a popular figure in the South, with her supporters addressing her as 'Amma'. In the mid-1960s, she rose to prominence as a leading film actress. Jayalalitha was a prolific actor, despite beginning her career reluctantly at her mother's request to support the family.
Between 1961 and 1980, she appeared in 140 films, mostly in Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada. Jayalalitha was dubbed 'Queen of Tamil Cinema' for her versatility as an actress and her dancing abilities. In 1982, the actress forayed into politics. The actress considered MG Ramachandran as her political guru, and pioneer of ADMK.
The Dravidian party All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) idolised her as their 'Amma' (Mother) and 'Puratchi Thalaivi' (Revolutionary leader). After the ADMK-Indian National Congress (INC) alliance won the 1991 elections, Jayalalithaa became Tamil Nadu's first female and youngest Chief Minister.
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She served as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister six times, the most recent being on May 23, 2016, and only twice did she lose power due to several allegations of scams and corruption levied against her. The second loss came in 2014, when she was disqualified as Chief Minister due to a disproportionate assets case filed against her in 1996 by Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy, while she was serving her first term as Chief Minister.
She died on December 5, 2016 after being hospitalised for nearly 75 days for various ailments, becoming India's first female CM to die in office. Jayalalitha was never married and had no children.
