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I’ve Never Wept in Public: Jayalalithaa on Politics, Love & MGR 

In a TV interview in 1999, J Jayalalitha also spoke about her childhood,and the ordeals she faced in politics.

Abhipsha Mahapatro
Politics
Updated:


Jayalalithaa paying floral tribute to former chief minister and AIADMK founder MGR. (Photo: PTI)
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Jayalalithaa paying floral tribute to former chief minister and AIADMK founder MGR. (Photo: PTI)
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Born as Komalavalli on 24 February 1948, Jayaram Jayalalithaa was one of the most popular woman politician the nation has seen. Fondly known as Amma, Jayalalithaa’s rise in Tamil Nadu’s politics is the perfect story of a woman living life on her own terms.

Amma was also seen as a distant, enigmatic figure. But in an interview with Simi Garewal in 1999, she spoke openly about her childhood, her father’s death, of how she spent a lot of her time pining for her mother. She also shed on light on her idea of love, how she got into films and the ordeals she had to face to sustain in politics.

Here are some quotes from the interview:

What Leadership Meant to Her

(Photo: The Quint/Abhipsha Mahapatro) 

On Being In the Limelight

(Photo: The Quint/Abhipsha Mahapatro) 

Her Idea of Love

(Photo: The Quint/Abhipsha Mahapatro) 
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On Her Fighting Spirit

(Photo: The Quint/Abhipsha Mahapatro) 

Her Tryst With Politics

(Photo: The Quint/Abhipsha Mahapatro)

On MGR and Her Mother

(Photo: The Quint/Abhipsha Mahapatro)

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Published: 06 Dec 2016,04:14 PM IST

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