Remembering Jayalalithaa ji.

Born on February 24, 1948, she was one of India's most powerful politicians.

Jayalalithaa's father, Jayaram, was a lawyer, but never worked and squandered most of the family money. He died when Jayalalitha was two years old. The widowed Vedavalli returned to her father's home in Bangalore in 1950. Jayalalitha remained under care of her mother's sister Padmavalli and with maternal grandparents from 1950 to 1958 in Mysore. After her aunt Padmavalli's marriage in 1958, Jayalalitha moved to Chennai and began to live with her mother. While a child, Jayalalitha acted in the Kannada-language Sri Shaila Mahathme (1961), which had Rajkumar and Krishna Kumari in lead roles. Jayalalithaa had forgotten all about films after acting in her Kannada debut film and had got ready to attend classes at Stella Maris as she had an ambition to be a lawyer. But the Kannada debut film became a blockbuster in 1964 and she became a well-known face. Meanwhile, Jayalalithaa continued acting in Parthasarathy's plays. She played the leading role in plays such as Malathi, The Whole Truth, and the dance drama Kaveri Thanda Kalaiselvi between 1960 and 1966. She made her debut as the lead actress in Kannada films while still in school, age 15, in Chinnada Gombe (1964). She also appeared in a dance sequence of a song named "Malligeya Hoovinantha" in the movie Amarashilpi Jakannachari (1964). Jayalalitha's debut in Tamil cinema was the leading role in Vennira Aadai (1965), directed by C. V. Sridhar. She made her debut in Telugu films as lead actress in Manushulu Mamathalu opposite Akkineni Nageshwara Rao. Her last Telugu release was also opposite Akkineni Nageswara Rao in the film Nayakudu Vinayakudu, which was released in 1980. She was the first heroine to appear in skirts in Tamil films. She acted in one Hindi film called Izzat, with Dharmendra as her male costar in 1968. She starred in 28 box-office hit films with M.G. Ramachandran between 1965 and 1973. The first with MGR was B.R. Panthalu's Aayirathil Oruvan in 1965 and their last film together was Pattikaattu Ponnaiya in 1973. 

She had 11 successful releases in Tamil in 1966. She became a regular heroine for production house Devar films from 1966. She was a leading actress before her entry into politics and appeared in 140 films from 1961 to 1980 primarily in the Tamil, Telugu and Kannada industries. She was considered a prolific and versatile actress having appeared in films of different genres and for performing wide variety of characters. She was also known for her dancing skills and was referred to as the queen of Tamil cinema.

As an actress, she frequently worked with another actor-turned-politician, M. G. Ramachandran (MGR). This led to wide speculation that Jayalalithaa was introduced to politics by MGR.  Soon after the death of MGR, Jayalalithaa proclaimed herself his political heir. She was a member of the Rajya Sabha, nominated from Tamil Nadu, from 1984 to 1989. She served five terms as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, for over fourteen years between 1991 and 2016. 

Jayalaithaa, also called as Amma by Tamilians around the world, had launched many welfare and education schemes since she came to power as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for the third term. Take a look at the Iron Lady's biggest most popular schemes launched in Tamil Nadu:

Amma Baby Care Kits: On 7 September 2015, Jayalalithaa had launched the Amma Baby Care Kit scheme in Tamil Nadu to provide accessories for the newborn and its mother. With 16 baby care items inside it, the cost of the kit was pegged at Rs 1,000.

Amma Call Centre: Jayalalithaa launched an Amma Call Centre on January 29, 2016 for people to register their grievances against the apathy of government departments. People were asked to dial toll-free number 1100 at any point of time in the day to register their complaint.

Amma Education Scheme: The AIADMK government decided to pay education loans of students who were unemployed.

Amma Skill Employment and Training Scheme: To create manpower and infrastructure for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector, AIADMK chief announced a new training programme on an outlay of Rs 32.50 crore on July 14, 2014. Under the programme, youths in the age group of 18-25 got six months’ training, along with employment, with a monthly stipend of Rs 5,000.

Amma Amudam Departmental Store: Taking into consideration the need to expand the provision stores chain in the cooperative sector, Jayalalithaa started Amma Amudham Departmental Stores at an outlay of Rs 37.17 crore.

Amma Salt: Aimed at benefiting people suffering goitre, blood efficiency disorders, etc. the Tamil Nadu CM ordered the industries department of the state to manufacture three varieties of salt and sell it in the open market.

Amma Pharmacies: Amma pharmacies, the first of which began functioning in June 1025 in Nanganallur, sold medicines at least 10 percent to 15 percent cheaper than private chemists.

Amma Cement Scheme: On September 29, 2014, the AIADMK Supremo launched its low-cost cement under the brand 'Amma', to cater the low and middle class customers in the state. The state government decided to procure 200,000 tonnes of cement from private manufacturers every month and sell them through all urban and rural local bodies at Rs 190 per bag.

Amma Marriage Halls: To mitigate the difficulties faced by the economically weaker sections in conducting the functions at high-cost halls, Jayalalithaa announced construction of Amma marriage halls at 11 places in Tamil Nadu at an estimated cost of Rs 83 crore.

Amma Free Wi-Fi: In September 2016, Jayalalithaa had announced to set up free-of-cost ‘Amma Wi-Fi Zones’ in 50 public places and 50 schools across Tamil Nadu.

Amma TNFDC Fish Stalls: Jayalalithaa (AMMA) launched the AMMA TNFDC Fish stalls in many key locations in Chennai.

Amma Seeds: Jayalalithaa encouraged farmers to use certified seeds. In 2014, she launched Amma Seeds scheme and allocated a sum of Rs 5.37 crore towards expanding a scheme for urban citizens to grow vegetables at home to Tiruchirappalli and Madurai.

Amma Canteens: Jayalalithaa, fondly addressed as Amma by her supporters, launched Amma Canteens to provide subsidised food.

Amma Mineral Water: She launched a scheme to provide 1 litre mineral water at Rs 10 a bottle and inaugurated the state-run 'Amma Drinking Water' plant with a daily capacity of three lakh litres at Gummidipoondy to ensure quality and affordable drinking water to the poor and middle class.

Amma Theatres: To provide low-cost entertainment to the economically-weaker sections, the AIADMK chief decided to commission Amma Theatres in Tamil Nadu.

Amma Mobile Phones: In 2006 Assembly polls, Jayalalitha had promised mobile phones to all ration card holders in the state.

Amma Laptops: In a major step, Amma announced free laptops to aspiring students.

Amma Grinder: The Amma mixers and grinders found a huge patronage among the women in both Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

Amma Table Fan: In February 2016, the Tamil Nadu government decided to supply about 1.93 crore table fans costing Rs 930 each to the poor. The AIADMK government began distributing electric fans, mixers and grinders in 2011.

Coming from humble background she knew what suffering means, and during her life time when she got the chance she did all she could to help the poor. In her heart she had a special place for poor girls and women and she launched many schemes to improve their lot.

Jayalalithaa Jayaram, commonly referred to as J Jayalalithaa or Amma, died on December 5, 2016, at the age of 68 after 75-day battle at the hospital.