Showing all artists born in 1948

K. R. Vijaya is an Indian actress who has starred in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada films. She started her career in the 1960s. She has been acting for more than four decades now in South Indian cinema. K. R. Vijaya has worked with almost all the stalwarts of South Indian cinema and has played a variety of roles.She had acted in more than 320 films in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada.

Vijaya was born as eldest among six children to Subramaniyam and Karthyayani at Thrissur, Kerala. Vijaya's father was from Andhra Pradesh and mother from Thrissur, Kerala. Her father was in Army and mother was a house wife. She has a younger brother, Narendran and four younger sisters, K. R. Vatsala, K. R. Savithri, Sashikala, Radha.

She had her primary education at Government Higher Secondary School,Punkunnam, Thrissur.Vijaya spent most of her childhood at Thrissur till she became 11 and later at holy city of Palani when her family shifted there. She couldn't continue her studies since she became busy in her acting career. Her father wanted her to become an actress since he was himself acting in M. K. Radha's drama troupe at the time after retiring from army. She became active in dramas. She made her film debut with Karpagam in 1963.

She got married to a businessman, Velayudhan Nair in 1966 and quit acting in films. Her husband was the CEO of Sudarshan trading company and a movie producer. The couple have a daughter Hemalatha (born 1967). Later on insistence of Arrurdas, she started working in films from 1969 to present. Velayudhan died on 26 March 2016 aged 82.

Vijaya played the title character, a heroine, in her 1963 debut film Karpagam, directed by K. S. Gopalakrishnan. Gopalakrishnan also directed her 100th film Nathaiyil Muthu.

Vijaya has starred in almost 400 films in all the South Indian languages, including 100 films each in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu, half-a-dozen in Kannada, and one in Hindi titled Oonche Log (1965). Her co-stars in the Hindi movie were Raaj Kumar and Feroz Khan and movie was based on K . Balachander's play Major Chandrakant. She received many offers in Hindi, but did not accept them as she was busy in the South.

Between her debut in 1963 and her marriage in 1966, she shot for films as the heroine in films like Ninaivil Nindraval, Thenmazhai, Ooty Varai Oravu, Patanathil Bhootam,Server Sundaram, Kandan Karunai, Paladai, Anarkali, Idhayakamalam and Manam Oru Korungu. She did 3 films Thazhampoo, Vivasayee and Panam Padaithavan opposite M.G.Ramachandran and played supporting roles in Naan Aanaiittal. She got married at the peak of her career in 1966. Since many of her films she was part of 1963 to 1967 were big hit films, Mr.Aroordas insisted her to continue acting, post giving birth to her first daughter and made comeback by starring in Telugu and Malayalam films in 1968-69.

After 1968, she was more frequently paired with Gemini Ganesan, Sivaji Ganesan, Jaishankar, Muthuraman. Her hits include Selvam, Saraswathi Sabadham, Nenchirukkum Varai, Namma Veetu Theivam (the movie in which she first started depicting deities), Dheergasumangali (she first started playing a mother in this film), Gowravam, Thangappathakkam,Panchavarna Kili and Thirusoolam. After her mairrage she got opportunity to act opposite M.G.Ramachandran in Naan Yen Pirandhen and Nalla Neram.

She temporarily stopped acting in movies when her husband became ill during 1994 and continued in television serials. After her husband's death she became active in movies and television.

Anant Nagarkatte (born 4 September 1948), popularly known as Anant Nag, is an actor from Karnataka, India. Reputed for his natural, under-playing style of acting, Ananth has carved a niche in Kannada filmdom.Kannada cinema . In addition to Kannada movies, he has acted in Marathi, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Hindi movies.He has also acted in Malgudi Days, directed by his younger brother Shankar Nag based on the stories by R. K. Narayan. He is fluent in Kannada, Konkani, Marathi, Hindi.

Anant Nag was born on 4 September 1948 to Anandi and Sadanand Nagarkatte in the Chowpatty suburb of Bombay (now Mumbai), in the erstwhile Bombay Province (now a part of Maharashtra State) of the Dominion of India.Born into a Konkani-speaking family, his family settled in Shirali, a village near Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada of Karnataka State. He had an older sister, Shyamala, and a younger brother, Shankar.

Anant had his early education under the aegis of Ananda Ashrama in Dakshina Kannada district and Chitrapur Math in Uttara Kannada district of the erstwhile Mysore State (now Karnataka). After class 7, he was sent to Bombay (now Mumbai) for further education where he studied till class 11. This was when he was drawn towards the theatre movement of Bombay and he was selected to act in Konkani, Kannada and Marathi-language plays which he did until he turned 22.

Once in Bombay, thanks to his good looks, he was suggested by theatre personalities Prabhakar Mudur and Venkatrao Talageri to participate in theatrical plays. His first role came in a play when he played the role of a Hindu monk, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, that proved to be a success among the audiences. He then played a role in a play based on the life of sage Gautama Buddha. Following these, he played important roles in plays in Konkani and Kannada languages, the latter mostly with directors K. K. Suvarna and Girish Karnad.

In Karnad's play Yayati, Nag played the role of Pururava. He also played major roles in Hindi language plays of Amol Palekar and Satyadev Dubey's socially and politically relevant plays. Around this time, in the early 1970s, he received two film offers, in P. V. Nanjaraja Urs' Kannada film, Sankalpa; and Shyam Benegal's Hindi film, Ankur.

Following a theatre career in Bombay, Nag made his film debut with Sankalpa a 1973 Kannada film. Shyam Benegal introduced him into Hindi cinema in his 1973 film Ankur. Anant Nag acted in many of Shyam Benegal's movies after that. Although he is well known for his mainstream Kannada films, Nag is also active in alternative Indian cinema.

His entry into Kannada films was through legendary G. V. Iyer's Hamsageethe. It is one of the most critically acclaimed of his movies and is about trysts of a learner whose greatest search is finding the right Guru.

Nag and fellow popular actress Lakshmi are a hit-pair in Kannada movies. They acted together in more than 25 films. Most of the films based on T. R. Subba Rao's novels and some of them directed by Dorai-Bhagavan. Right from late 70's, Chandanada Gombe, Naa Ninna Bidaalare (1979), Benkiya Bale, Ibbani Karagitu, Makkaliralavva Mane Thumba, Mududida Taavare Aralitu, Amma and other movies turned out as blockbuster hits that made Anant Nag and Lakshmi household names in Karnataka. Both the actors have signed a new film together in 2013 called "Gulmohar" directed by Devanuru Chandra that has already started shooting.

Beginning with New-Wave artistic movies in early 70's, Ananth Nag branched into commercial cinema.Comedy in Narada Vijaya, Suspense in Kuduremukha, Action in Minchina Ota showed his comfort in different genres. He also dabbled in television during this period. Starting with Jhenkaara in 1994 where he acted as fathre to hero Kumar Bangarappa, He started accepting character roles. In the 90s, he experimented with negative roles (Shanti Kranti).

He held his own with matinee idol Rajkumar in the movie Kamana Billu. Bhakta Prahlada, in which Rajkumar played Hiranya Kashyapu and Ananthnag as Narada muni was a big success.

His comedy-streak was showcased in Ganeshana Maduve, Gauri Ganesha, Udbava, Undoohoda Konduhoda, Beladingala Baale, Hasyaratna Ramakrishna, Yarigu Helbedi, dairya lakshmi. Ananth Nag is a first-choice not just to old-crop directors but also young directors like Yogaraj Bhat inMungaru Male, Gaalipata, NagaShekar in Aramane, Pawan Wodeyar in Googly (film). Yogaraj BhatEredane maduve has been a surprise hit where he acted in a lead role with Suhasini Maniratnam.

Nag acted in Anahat and it drew rave reviews. Marathi film director Amol Palekar found Nag's sensitive depiction of the king's dilemmas to have greatly enhanced the multifaceted complexities of the film.The character portrayed by Nag has depth and dimension, powerfully drawing you into the core of the story.

Though he is one of the most influential men both from a film and political point of view, he has often been regarded as the finest, the simplest and polite personality. His appearance in front of media or appearances for publicity have hardly been noticed and the association of his name with any controversy has hardly been reported, either with his film or with political career. For these reasons, Nag is considered as one of the most respectable personalities in the real life. Now he is one of the most sought-after actor in Kannada cinemas.

In 1979, Nag was shooting for Narada Vijaya while Gayatri was shooting for Auto Raja with Shankar Nag in Chamundeshwari studios. With time, cupid struck and love blossomed between them. They married on 9 April 1987.They have a daughter, Aditi.

Vanisri or Ratna Kumari (born 3 August 1948), also known as Vanisree or Vanishree, is a popular Telugu actress in the mid-1960s to the late 1970s. Her portfolio also includes Kannada and Tamil films.

Vanisri was born in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, India in 1948. Actor S V Ranga Rao gave her screen name Vanisri.

She gained attention with a supporting role in a film penned by K. Balachander titled Sukha Dukhalu (1967), where the famous song "Idi Mallela Velayani" was picturized on her. It led to her first starring role in Telugu films, Marapurani Kadha (1967). She remained a heroine after this film and held the top spot through most of the 1970s.

Vanisri had several super hit and silver jubilee movies, such as Krishnaveni(Telugu Remake of Kannada Movie Sharapanjara), Prem Nagar, Dasara Bullodu, Aradhana, Jeevitha Chakram, Rangula Ratnam, Sri Krishna Tulabharam, Bhakta Kannappa, and Bobbili Raja, etc. She played dual roles in Iddaru Ammayilu (1972)[Telugu Remake of 1969 release Kannada film Kappu Bilupu), Ganga Manga (1973 remake of the Hindi film Seeta Aur Geeta), Jeevana Jyothi (1975), and Chilipi Krishnudu (1978). She financed and starred in Shyam Benegal's only Telugu film Anugraham (1977), co-starring Smita Patil. She acted with Sivaji Ganesan in a number of films such as Uyarntha Manithan (1968), Nirai Kudam (1969), Vasantha Maligai (1972), Sivakamiyin Selvan (1974), Vani Rani (Tamil remake of the Hindi film Seeta Aur Geeta) (1974) and Nallathoru Kudumbam (1979). In the late 1970s, Vanisri left films to get married and have a son and a daughter.

Vanisri returned to film in the late 1980s acting in mother roles, such as her character in Athaku Yamudu Ammayiki Mogudu (1989). She was also in the 1999 hindi film Main Tere Pyar Mein Pagal directed by Telugu director K. Raghavendra Rao. She often portrays arrogant mothers-in-law or aunts. Vanisri has acted in television serials as well.

She also worked as politician in Congress party.

K. Venu Gopal (born 22 May 1948), known popularly by his stage name Nedumudi Venu is a Malayalam film actor from Kerala, India. He has also written screenplays and has directed one film.

Venu was born to P. K. Kesavan Nair-a school master- and P. Kunjikkuttiyamma in Nedumudi, Alappuzha as one of their five children.  He was involved in art and music since his academic period. After graduating from Sanatana Dharma College, Alappuzha, he worked as a journalist in Kalakaumudi and as a teacher in a tutorial institute.

Venu was living in Thiruvananthapuram when he made friends with the likes of Aravindan, Padmarajan and Bharath Gopi. This ultimately paved way for his film career.

Venu started his career in theatre and went on to act in films. He debuted in the film Thambu (1978) by director G. Aravindan. His acting skills were showcased in the Bharathan film Aaravam. Padmarajan's Oridathoru Phayalwan and Kallan Pavithran set a milestone for him. It marked his start in karanavar (head of the family) roles, which included most of his memorable performances.

Venu also wrote scripts for movies. He wrote the stories for the films Kattathe Kilikkoodu, Theertham, Sruthi, Ambada Njane, Oru Katha Oru Nunnakkatha, Savidham, and Angane Oru Avadhikkalathu. He also tried his hand in direction with Pooram. He has also acted in a few Tamil films with director Shankar, such as Kamal Hasan's Indian and Vikram's Anniyan.

Venu has also acted in some television serials. He won the Best Actor award for his role in 'Saira at the Zimbabwe International Film Festival which concluded in September 2007; Saira was the only film from India to be included in the festival. The committee mentioned that he acted compellingly and convincingly in his portrayal of a man caught between secularism and fundamentalism.

Hema Malini ("Hema Malini Chakravarty") (born 16 October 1948, Jeeyapuram (Tiruchirappalli), Tamil Nadu, India) is an Indian actress, director, producer, dancer and politician.1963 she made acting début in Tamil film "Ithu Sathiyam" as a dancer/supporting actress. Malini first acted in main role in Sapno Ka Saudagar (1968), and went on to feature in numerous Bollywood films, primarily as the lead actress. In most of her films, she starred opposite her husband; Dharmendra and with Rajesh Khanna and Dev Anand.

Malini was initially promoted as the "Dream Girl", and in 1977 starred in a film of the same name. She has played both comic and dramatic roles, as well as being a dancer.She has appeared in more than 150 films.During her career, Malini received eleven nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress, winning the award in 1972.

In 2000, Malini won the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award and also the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian honour awarded by the Government of India.In 2012, the Sir Padampat Singhania University conferred an Honorary Doctorate on Malini in recognition of her contribution to Indian cinema.

Malini served as chairperson of the National Film Development Corporation. In 2006, Malini received Sopori Academy of Music And Performing Arts (SaMaPa) Vitasta award from Bhajan Sopori in Delhi for her contribution and service to Indian culture and dance.

From 2003 to 2009, Malini was elected to the Rajya Sabha, the upper House of parliament, as a representative of the Bharatiya Janata Party.In 2014, Malini was elected to the Lok Sabha. Malini has been involved with charitable and social ventures.

Malini was the third child born of a Tamil-speaking family to her mother Jaya Lakshmi Chakravarti, a film producer and VSR Chakravarti. Malini attended the Andhra Mahila Sabha in Chennai where her favourite subject was history.Malini studied at DTEA Mandir Marg and in 12th Standard left to begin her acting career.

Malini's first film with Dharmendra was Sharafat (1970), and they got married in 1979.Dharmendra was already married at the time and had children, two of whom are Bollywood actors Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol. Malini converted to Islam and married Dharmendra. They have two children, Bollywood actress Esha Deol (born 1981)and Ahana Deol, an assistant director.

Malini's niece is actress Madhoo who played the female lead in Phool Aur Kaante (1991), Roja (1992) and Annayya (1993).

Malini was a supporting artiste in Idhu Sathiyam (1963) and portrayed a danseuse in Pandava Vanavasam (1965). In 1968, Malini played opposite Raj Kapoor in Sapno Ka Saudagar.That was the beginning of her promotion as the "Bollywood dream girl."

In Johnny Mera Naam (1970), Malini took a lead role and she took other challenging roles; for example, a young widow in Andaz (1971) and a poor woman in Lal Patthar (1971). In 1972, Malini played opposite Dharmendra and Sanjeev Kumar in Seeta Aur Geeta.Malini received a Filmfare Best Actress Award for this film.Within four years of making her début, Malini was an established lead actress in Bollywood and classical dancer. Malini's films of the 1970s include Sanyasi (1975), Dharmatma , Pratigya (1975). In Sholay (1975), Malini played the role of Basanti, a talkative girl. Other works of the period include Trishul, Joshila, Khushboo (1975), Kinara (1977) and Meera (1979).

Malini performed with Dharmendra in 28 films including Sharafat, Tum Haseen Main Jawan, Naya Zamana, Raja Jani, Seeta Aur Geeta , Patthar Aur Payal, Dost (1974), Sholay (1975), Charas, Jugnu, Azaad (1978) and Dillagi (1978).

After her marriage, Malini made films including Kranti, Naseeb (1981), Satte Pe Satta, Rajput, and Ek Nai Paheli (1984). Malini portrayed the role of a classical singer in the film opposite Rajesh Khanna, which Times of India called one of the top film couples.

Her works also included Aandhi Toofan, Durgaa (1985), Ramkali (1985), Sitapur Ki Geeta (1987), Ek Chadar Maili Si (1986), Rihaee and Jamai Raja (1990).

During this period, Malini performed with Dharmendra in Alibaba Aur 40 Chor, Baghavat, Samraat, Razia Sultan, Andha Kanoon (1983), Baghavat, and Raaj Tilak (1984).

She directed the film Dil Aashna Hai with Divya Bharti and Shahrukh Khan in the leading roles. Following this, Malini focused on dancing and television work.

After taking a break from films for a number of years, Hema made a comeback with Baghban (2003).for which she earned a Filmfare Best Actress Award nomination. She also played a substantial supporting role in the 2004 film Veer-Zaara. In 2011, she directed her second feature film Tell Me O Khuda which featured both her husband Dharmendra and her daughter Esha Deol.

n 1999, Malini campaigned for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate, Vinod Khanna, a former Bollywood actor, in the Lok Sabha Elections in Gurdaspur, Punjab. In February 2004, Malini officially joined the BJP From 2003 to 2009, she served as an MP to the upper house- the Rajya Sabha, having been nominated by the then President of India, Dr A P J Abdul Kalam. In March 2010, Malini was made general secretary of the BJP, and in February 2011, she was recommended by Ananth Kumar, the party general secretary. In the 2014 general elections for the Lok Sabha, Malini defeated the Mathura incumbent, Jayant Chaudhary (RLD) by 3,30,743 votes.Malini was then elected to the Lok Sabha.

Malini is a supporter of the animal rights organisation, PETA India. In 2009, she wrote a letter to the Mumbai Municipal Commissioner urging him to ban horse carriages from the Mumbai`s busy streets.In 2011, she wrote to the Union Minister for Environment and Forests, Jairam Ramesh, urging him to ban bull fighting (jallikattu).She said, "My friends at PETA have organised investigations at jallikattu events and documented that bulls are pulled roughly by their nose rings, punched, pummelled, hit with sharp sticks and crammed into trucks so tightly that they can barely move".Malini won the title of "PETA Person of the Year". As a vegetarian, she said, "Knowing that my food choices are helping the planet and animals too, makes me happy".

Malini is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer. Her daughters Esha Deol and Ahana Deol are trained Odissi dancers. They performed with Malini in a production called Parampara for charitable events.She also performed with her daughters at the Khajuraho Dance Festival.
Malini studied Kuchipudi with Vempati Chinna Satyam and Mohiniattam with Kalamandalam Guru Gopalakrishnan. She has played a number of dance roles including Narasimha and Rama in Tulasidas's Ramcharitmanas.In 2007, she performed in Mysuru on the eve of Dussera, where she played the roles of Sati, Parvati and Durga.

Malini owns the Natya Vihar Kalakendra dance school.

Malini has appeared in television series such as Jai Mata Ki (2000), directed by Puneet Issar. She played the role of goddess Durga.Other television series appearances include Kamini Damini on Sahara One where she played twin sisters and Noopur which Malini directed and in which she played a Bharatanatyam dancer.

Malini owned the editorship of New Woman, a Hindi women's magazine. In 2000, Malini was appointed as the first female chairperson of the National Film Development Corporation for a term of three years.

In 2007, Malini entered a promotional contract with Kent RO Systems, makers of a mineral water purifier system.Malini also became a brand ambassador for Pothys, a textile showroom in Chennai.

Moon Moon Sen is an Indian actress born on March 28, 1948 in Calcutta (now Kolkata). She is the daughter of renowned Bengali actress Suchitra Sen and Dibanath Sen. She belonged to the wealthiest family of Culcutta of early times. She has done her schooling from Loreto Convent, Shillong and Loreto House, Culcutta. She completed her graduation from Somerville College, Oxford and did her Masters in Comparative Literature from Jadavpur University, Kolkata.

As a child she was interested in painting and has learnt the art from one of the greatest Indian artist Jamini Roy. Before venturing into films, she used to teach English Literature at Ballygunge Government High School.

After her marriage and in her days of motherhood she debuted in Bollywood with 'Andar Baahar', in the same year she marked her debut in Bengali Cinema with 'Baidurya Rahasya'. She has done number of films in Hindi and Bengali, also she has ventured in other regional Cinemas of Marathi, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada languages. She was much ahead for her times and didn't sway away from getting projected in the soap ads, which were then controversial in the era of 1980s.

In 2014, Moon Moon joined Indian politics with Trinamool Congress and won Lok Sabha Poll right in her first attempt.

On the personal front, Moon Moon got married to Bharat Dev Varma, a royal descendent of Tripura State and has two daughters with him, the actresses Raima Sen and Riya Sen. She gives the entire credit of her career to supporting husband allowed her to explore being protective at the same time.

irruppam Veedu Sasidaran, better known as I. V. Sasi, is an Indian film director who has made over 150 Indian films in various languages and genres. He is known for his South Indian films of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, primarily Malayalam films, although he directed Hindi films during the 1980s as well.

He is also the winner of J. C. Daniel Award for the year 2015.


I. V. Sasi is married to Malayalam actress Seema on 28 August 1980. He met her on the set of his film Avalude Raavukkal. Ever since, she has been his favorite heroine. They have worked together in more than 30 movies. He has two children, daughter Anu and son Ani. Anu has acted in Symphony, directed by her father.Anu got married to Milan Nair on 10 December 2010. Ani completed Visual Communication from Loyola College, Chennai and is an budding director himself. I. V. Sasi lives with his family in Chenna.

I. V. Sasi started his film career as an art director. Later, after working as an assistant director in some films, he directed his first film at the age of 27. Though his name was not mentioned in the credits, the film turned out to be a huge success. He started his directorial career officially with his first film Ulsavam. Soon he carved out a name for himself in the Malayalam film industry. His films were known for their uniqueness and always contained a stamp of his directorial style. I. V. Sasi has directed more than 170 odd films over a span of 34 years and has constantly delivered super hits and some of them classified as classics or good cinema. His Malayalam film Avalude Raavukal permanently established his name in the industry. This film was later dubbed into many other Indian languages including Hindi. It was the second film in Malayalam to be rated as "Adults only" even though it was a drama.

One of Mohanlal's first breaks as a co-hero Ineyengillum was also directed by I. V. Sasi.He introduced Mammootty as a hero in his film Thrishna. He also introduced Jose. Other collaborations such as M.T. Vasudevan Nair-I. V. Sasi, Padmarajan-I. V. Sasi, and T.Damodaran-I. V. Sasi are well remembered. He worked with Mammootty on more than 35 films. He went on to direct one of Mohanlal's biggest hits, Devaasuram, which was scripted by Ranjith. He has directed films in several other languages, such as Hindi, Telugu, and Tamil. He has directed Kamal Haasan in films like Guru, Allauddinum Arputha Vilakkum, Karishma and Eeta. He was the one who introduced Rajinikanth to Malayalam film industry through Allauddinum Albhutha Vilakkum in 1979. Other films with Rajinikanth include the Telugu-Tamil bilingual film Kaali and Ellam Un Kairasi. He has directed Hindi movies as Patita (Mithun Chakraborty), Anokha Rishta (Rajesh Khanna and Smita Patil), Pratishodh (1980), Karishma etc. He has directed Malayalam movies in many genres. His war-themed movie 1921, written by screenwriter T. Damodaran, was the first Malayalam movie to be nominated in the Italian Film Festival. His Ina was the first Malayalam movie about child marriage. In 1982, he shared The Indian National film Awards' "The Nargis Dutt award" for the best feature film on national integration for his film Aaroodam with its producer Rosamma George. I.V. Sasi is the festival director of the second edition All Lights India International Film Festival.The event will be held at Ramoji Film City, the world’s largest film studio at Hyderabad, India from 24th to 27th Sept 2016.

Tshering Phintso "Danny" Denzongpa (born 25 March 1948) is an Indian actor of Sikkimese-Bhutia-Nepali descent, working in Bollywood films. He has acted in numerous Hindi films such as Asoka and 16 December. He has also starred in some international projects, the most famous being Seven Years in Tibet where he acted alongside Hollywood actor Brad Pitt. In 2003, Denzongpa was awarded the Padma Shree, India's fourth highest civilian honour. Denzongpa is noted for his villainous and character roles.

Danny was born to a Buddhist family in the Kingdom of Sikkim (the 22nd state of India since 1975) where he had his early schooling in the erstwhile, thereafter completed his schooling from Birla Vidya Mandir, Nainital, Uttarakhand in 1964. Denzongpa's love of horses and horse riding began at an early age, as his family was into horse breeding.

He nursed an ambition to join the Indian Army and won the Best Cadet award from West Bengal and participated in the Republic Day parade. In an interview to The Times of India newspaper, he said that he had qualified for prestigious Armed Forces Medical College, Pune but withdrew admission to join Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. Actress Jaya Bhaduri, his classmate at FTII, Pune decided to change his name to a simpler sounding "Danny" as his original name was tough to be pronounced by other students. The name has stuck since.

During his early film career, Danny used to practice learning Hindi by talking to the ocean. The Urdu came in handy in films such as Sawan Kumar's Sanam Bewafa and Mukul Anand's Khuda Gawah.

Danny's film career spans more than 4 decades. In the 1970s, he played relatively smaller roles which got him noticed. After his performance in the film Lahoo Ke Do Rang, he started getting more significant lengthy roles. Through the 1980s and 1990s, Danny mainly featured as the lead negative character opposite all the leading actors of those times such as Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Jeetendra, Mithun Chakraborthy, Vinod Khanna, Anil Kapoor and Sunny Deol.

He had his first major role which he played in B.R.Chopra's 'Dhundh'(1973). This role shows his power, followed by 'Kanoon Kya Karega'. His other most applauded negative characters are in Andar Baahar (1984) as Shera, Aandhi Toofan (1986), Bhagwan Dada (1986) as Gangwaa, Agneepath (1990) as Kancha Cheena, Hum (1991) as Bakhtawar, Ghatak: Lethal as Kaatya, Krantiveer (1994) as Chatur Singh and Pukar (2000) as Abhrush

He started out with B-grade movies such as B.R. Ishara's Zaroorat in 1971, and later moved on to Mere Apne and Kala Sona where he played more positive roles. He then went on to play the roles of the villain numerous times. Some of the antihero roles he played were an unscrupulous politician, corrupt policeman, traitor, and mingy landlord. He got his major break in Gulzar's Mere Apne and later in B R Chopra's Dhund where he played a crippled and frustrated husband. It is said Danny was the first choice to play the iconic role of Gabbar Singh in the film Sholay. However since he was away on the shoot of Feroz Khan film Dharmatma, eventually Gabbar's role went to Amjad Khan. One of his critically acclaimed roles as a villain came when he played the role of Bakhtawar, a don bent on revenge in Mukul Anand's Hum. He was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Villain.

He is an accomplished singer having sung with Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi and Asha Bhonsle, three stalwarts of Indian music. He has released Nepalese songs and has sung for Nepalese movies. His two most famous songs recorded in 1970s but still hit are "Chiso Chiso Hawama" ("In the cool air") and "Manko kura lai bandhi narakha..."("Do not keep the words of the heart tied").

He wrote and acted in the Nepali film Saino which was super hit. His nephew Ugyen Chhopel directed it. He has sung its title song and a duet with Deepa Narayan, wife of Udit Narayan. Later, this film was made in Hindi as Ajnabi as a telefilm for Doordarshan. He has sung a Nepali duet with Asha Bhosle, "Aage aage topai ko gola pachhi pachhi machinegun barara". His all-Nepali songs are hits and people like them even today: "Hiun vanda chiso, Aago vanda taato..." ("Colder than snow, hotter than fire.."), "Naachana hoi maichyan hau nachana" ("Dance o lovely girl"), "Jhimkai deu pareli manma bajchha mitho murali..." ("Please blink your eyes and sweet sound of flute plays in the heart), Rato rani pulhya etc. are his few hit numbers.

He is also a painter, a writer and a sculptor.

In the past decade, Danny gave stellar performances in movies such as Asoka and 16 December (2002).  He then went on to appear in the successful Tamil film, Enthiran, co-starring Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai in the leads. Denzongpa played the antagonist role of Bohra, a prominent scientist who transforms Chitti (played by Rajinikanth) into an evil robot. Upon release, the film won critical and commercial acclaim.

Danny, who married Gawa Denzongpa, a Sikkimese princess and niece of the last chogyal from her hometown of Gangtok, currently resides in Juhu in Mumbai. Since the 2000s (decade), he has become more selective of the roles he plays.In the movies he chooses, he works on his own terms. He has a son named Rinzing and a daughter named Pema. His brother owns a bouj and beer factory in Melli, Sikkim.

Jayalalithaa Jayaraman born 24 February 1948), commonly referred to as Amma and Puratchi Thalaivi by members in her party; also called as Selvi J.Jayalalitha, or Kumari Jayalalitha or Jaya or Jayalalitha Jayaram, is an Indian politician and the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, in office since 2015. Previously she served as Chief Minister from 1991 to 1996, in 2001, from 2002 to 2006 and from 2011 to 2014. She was an actress before her entry into politics and appeared in 140 films which includes Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada films. As a leading actress in films from 1961 to 1980, she was considered as one of the most prolific and most versatile actress having appeared in films of different genres and for performing wide variety of characters. She was also known for her dancing skills.She is referred to as the queen of Tamil cinema.  She is the general secretary of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). She is popularly referred to as Puratchi Thalaivi, Thanga Gopuram, Thanga Chillai and Thanga Tharagai (Golden Maiden) by her followers.  In 2001, an additional letter "a" was appended to the spelling of her name for reasons related to numerology. As an actress, she frequently worked with another actor-turned-politician, M. G. Ramachandran (MGR). This led to wide speculation that Jayalalitha was introduced to politics by MGR. However, she has denied these claims and stated that she had entered politics by choice. She was a member of the Rajya Sabha, elected from Tamil Nadu, from 1984 to 1989. Soon after the death of MGR, Jayalalitha proclaimed herself his political heir. She is the second female chief minister of Tamil Nadu after Janaki Ramachandran.  Jayalalithaa became the first incumbent chief minister in India to be disqualified from holding office due to conviction in a disproportionate assets caseon 27 September 2014.  On 11 May 2015, the Karnataka High Court acquitted Jayalalithaa in the disproportionate assets case, and she resumed office as Chief Minister on 23 May. She was subsequently re-elected by the electorate of the Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar constituency of North Chennai in a by-election held on 27 June 2015. She was re-elected as Chief Minister on 19 May 2016 and took the oath as Chief Minister for the sixth time on 23 May 2016. 

Early life, education and family

Jayalalitha was born on 24 February 1948, at Melukote, in Pandavapura taluka, Mandya district, then in Mysore State (now Karnataka) to Jayaram and Vedavalli in a Tamil Iyengar Brahmin family.  Jayalalitha was given her grandmother's name Koamalavalli at the time of birth. As per Brahmin custom, 2 names are given - one ancestral grandmother name and other being personal name. The personal name Jayalalitha was adopted at the age of 1 for the purpose of using the same in school and colleges. It was derived from the names of two houses where she resided in Mysore. One was "Jaya Vilas" and the other "Lalitha Vilas". Her paternal grandfather, Narasimhan Rengachary, was in the service of the Mysore kingdom as a surgeon, and served as the court physician to Maharaja Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV of Mysore. Her maternal grandfather, Rangasamy Iyengar, moved to Mysore from Srirangam to work with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. He had one son and three daughters - Ambujavalli, Vedavalli and Padmavalli. Vedavalli was given in marriage to Narasimhan Rengachary's son, Jayaram. The couple Jayaram-Vedvalli had two children: a son Jayakumar and a daughter, Jayalalitha.  Her mother, her relatives and later co-stars and friends referred her as Ammu. Jayalalitha'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. Vedavalli learnt shorthand and typewriting to take up a clerical position to help support the family in 1950. Vedavalli's younger sister Ambujavalli had moved to Madras and was working as an air hostess since 1948 and was also acting in dramas and films using the screen name Vidyaavathy since 1951. After a while, on insistence of Ambujavalli, Jayalalithaa's mother Vedavalli also relocated to Madras and stayed with her sister since 1952.  Vedavalli worked in a commercial firm in Madras and began dabbling in acting since 1953 under screen name Sandhya. Jayalalitha remained under care of her mother's sister Padmavalli and with maternal grandparents from 1950 to 1958 in Mysore. Vedavalli took on the name Sandhya and began to work as an actress, first in local drama companies and then in Tamil cinema. She took on the screen name of Sandhya.  While still in Bangalore, Jayalalithaa attended Bishop Cotton Girls' School.  In later interviews, Jayalalithaa spoke emotionally about how she missed her mother growing up in a different city, and she had the opportunity to visit her mother during summer vacations. After her aunt Padmavalli's marriage in 1958, Jayalalitha moved to Chennai and began to live with her mother. She completed her childhood education at Sacred Heart Matriculation School (popularly known as Church Park Presentation Convent or Presentation Church Park Convent) in Chennai.  She excelled at school and was offered a government scholarship to pursue further education.  She won Gold State Award for coming first in 10th standard in not just her school but also in Tamil Nadu. She appears not to have accepted the admission offered to her at Stella Maris College, Chennai.  She is fluent in several languages, including Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Malayalam and English. Her brother Jayakumar, his wife Vijayalakshmi and his daughter Deepa lived in T.Nagar Chennai.  Her brother died in 1995 in an accident 

Early career In Chennai, Jayalalitha trained in classical music, western classical piano, and various forms of classical dance, including Bharatanatyam, Mohiniattam, Manipuri and Kathak.  She learnt Bharatnatyam and dance forms under K.J.Sarasa. She became an accomplished dancer and gave her debut dance performance at the Rasika Ranjani Sabha in Mylapore in May 1960.  The Chief Guest at the Arangetram was Shivaji Ganesan , who expressed wish that Jayalalitha becomes a film star in future. While a child, Jayalalithaa acted in the Kannada-language Sri Shaila Mahathme (1961), which had Rajkumar and Krishna Kumari in lead roles.  She had been taken to the studio by her mother as her mother was shooting in the same premises for a different film. While Jayalalithaa was watching the shooting, a problem arose as the child actor playing the Goddess Parvathy in a school drama scene in the film had not turned up and the producer Neerlahalli Thalikerappa and director Aroor Pattabhi asked Sandhya if Jayalalitha could be asked to act in the dance sequence. Sandhya agreed and Jayalalitha was swiftly dressed up as Parvathy and the scene was shot.  She played Krishna in a three-minute dance sequence held on stage in the Hindi film Manmauji (1962) and danced with Kumari Naaz who played Radha. Y. G. Parthasarathy ran the drama troupe United Amateur Artistes (UAA), which staged English and Tamil plays. Soon Jayalalitha while a schoolgirl began acting in some plays of Parthasarathy along with her mother and aunt. She acted in small roles in plays such as Tea House of the August Moon and Undersecretary between 1960 and 1964. Shankar Giri, the son of the former Indian President V. V. Giri, saw her small role in the English play Tea Houses of August Moon and was impressed. Shankar Giri approached her mother Sandhya and told he wanted to cast her daughter in an English film called The Epistle. Sandhya reluctantly agreed with the condition that shooting should be held only during weekends or school holidays. Sandhya had acted in the 1964 Tamil film Karnan, produced and directed by Kannada film-maker B. R. Panthulu. Jayalalithaa accompanied her mother to a party related to the film and was spotted by Panthulu, who then decided to cast her opposite Kalyankumar in the Kannada movie Chinnada Gombe. He promised to finish all shooting within two months in order not to interfere with her education. Since Jayalalitha would be studying for her PUC in two months' time, Sandhya had declined the offer initially. Sandhya agreed when that promise was made and Jayalalithaa started acting and she was paid Rs. 3,000. Panthulu kept his promise and completed shooting in six weeks. 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). She made her debut in Tamil theatre in April 1964, when she played a sales girl in the drama named Undersecretary. Parthasarthy and Sandhya were the lead characters, while Jayalalitha and Cho Ramaswamy were paired together and A. R. Srinivasan was also involved. The play was based on the lives of middle aged couple and Jayalaitha played character of sales girl in the drama. Her performance caused Parthasarthy to make her lead heroine in a drama named Malathy. Meanwhile, the films she had shot during her vacation in April–May 1964 - Chinnada Gombe and Manushulu Mamathalu - became blockbusters. By end of 1965 she had become popular among film producers and directors. She was approached by C. V. Sridhar for her Tamil film debut as well. Between 1964 and 1966 she did around 35 shows of drama named Malathy and later discontinued as she became very busy in films.  It was during the year 1964, financial debts had increased of Sandhaya and she suggested her daughter to make use of the increasing film offers coming her way. Jayalalithaa'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. In the opening credits of Arasa Katalai, for the first time her name was affixed with the phrase Kavarchi Kanni.  In 1967 she bought her bungalow, Veda Nilayam, in Poes Gardens for 1.32 lakhs.  Sandow M. M. A. Chinnappa Thevar was on the lookout for a regular heroine for his production after he had fight with the actress Savithri after the release of Vetaikkaran, and he signed Jayalalitha on in 1965. She became a regular heroine for production house Devar films from 1966.  Jaishankar was romantically paired with Jayalalithaa in eight Tamil films including Muthuchippi, Yaar Nee?, Nee (film), Vairam, Vandhale Magarasi, Bommalattam (1968 film) (1968), Raja Veetu Pillai and Avalukku Aayiram Kangal whereas the films Thanga Gopuram and Gowri Kalyanam had him play elder brother to her. Jayalalitha acted in twelve films as heroine opposite N. T. Rama Rao, in Telugu - Gopaludu Bhoopaludu (1967), Chikkadu Dorakadu (1967), Tikka Shankaraiah (1968), Niluvu Dopidi (1968), Baghdad Gaja Donga (1968), Kathanayakudu (1969 film) (1969), Kadaladu Vadaladu (1969), Gandikota Rahasyam (1969), Ali Baba 40 Dongalu (1970), Shri Krishna Vijayam (1970), Shri Krishna Satya (1971), Devudu Chesina Manushulu (1973). Jayalalitha had 7 films with Akkineni Nageswara Rao in Telugu - Manashulu Mamatalu (1965), Aastiparulu (1966), Brahmachari (1968), Aadarsa Kutumbam (1969), Adrushtavanthalu (1969), Bharya Biddalu(1971), Nayakudu Vinayakudu (1980). She also made guest appearance in Navarthi (1966). In 1969, in Tamil Conference held, she was given the tag of Kaviri Thandha Kalai Selvi. She has been given on-screen credit as Kalai Selvi in most of her Tamil films since 1967. Later career She acted with Ravichandran in 10 Tamil hit films including Gowri Kalyanam (1966), Kumari Penn (1966), Naan (1967), Magarasi (1967), Maadi Veettu Mappilai (1967), Panakkara Pillai (1968), Moondru Yezhuthu (1968), Andru Kanda Mugam (1968), Avalukku Aayiram Kangal and Baghdad Perazhagi (1974). In 1972, Jayalalithaa acted opposite Sivaji Ganesan in Pattikada Pattanama, which went on to win the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil in 1973. It fetched her a Filmfare Award for Best Actress. Her performances in Chandhrodhayam, Adimai Penn, Engirundho Vandhaal fetched her Special Award from Filmfare and Tamil Nadu government in 1966,1969 and 1970. Her performance in Pattikada Pattanama, Suryagandhi were critically acclaimed and won her Filmfare Award for Best Actress in 1972 and 1973 respectively. In 1973, she acted in the Telugu Sri Krishna Satya which won her Filmfare Award for Best Actress in Telugu. Her other films with Sivaji Ganesan include Galatta Kalyanam and Deiva Magan; the latter holds the distinction of being the first Tamil film to be submitted by India for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Jayalalitha was paired opposite Sivaji Ganesan in 17 films as his heroine and as his daughter in their first film named Motoram Sunderapillai. Jayalalitha had 6 films with R. Muthuraman as a romantic leading pair - Dhikku Theriyadha Kaattil, Thirumangalyam, Kanavan Manaivi, Avandhan Manidhan, Suryagandhi, Anbu Thangai whereas Muthuraman played supporting roles in Kannan En Kadhalan, Major Chandrakanth, Naan (1967 film), En Annan, Adi Parashakti, Thaer Thiruvizha, Dharmam Engey, Chitra Pournami and Oru Thaai Makkal. She later appeared opposite Sivakumar in Kandan Karunai and Shri Krishna Leelai and Sivakumar played supporting roles in Shakti Leelai, Yarrukum Vetkam Ilali, Thirumangalyam, Annaivelakanni, Kavalkaran, Motoram Sunderapillai and Ganga Gowri.  She made her debut in Malayalam with Jesus(1973) and the film was huge hit.  Her 100th film was Thirumangalyamreleased in 1974 directed by A.Vincent. Her last film in Tamil was the 1980 picture Nadhiyai Thedi Vandha Kadal but the last film she worked on, in which she played the lead heroine, was a Telugu film in 1980, named Nayakudu Vinayakudu, which became the highest grosser of the year in Telugu. During the 1960s and 1970s, she starred opposite M. G. Ramachandran in a number of successful films, including Aayirathil Oruvan, Kavalkaran, Adimai Penn, Engal Thangam, Kudiyirundha Koyil, Ragasiya Police 115 and Nam Naadu. Cho Ramaswamy casted her in the lead role in his directorial venture Yarrukkum Vetkam Illai. The heroes of her films never objected to the title of the film being conferred on the female lead played by Jayalalitha. Adimai Penn, Kanni Thaai, and Kannan En Kadhalan had Ramachandran as the lead male hero but the story and the title was built around the character played by Jayalalithaa. Similarly, Engerindo Vandhaal, Sumathi En Sundari, and Anbai Thedi had Sivaji Ganeshan as the male lead but the title and the story was built around her character. She did many female-centric films where the story revolved on her character, such as Vennira Adai, Yaar Nee?, Kumari Penn, Nee, Gowri Kalyanam, Magaraasi, Muthu Chippi, Thanga Gopuram, Avalukku Ayiram Kangal, Annamitta Kai, Vandhaale Magaraasi, Suryagandhi, Thirumangalyam, Yarukkum Vetkam Illai, and Kanavan Manaivi. Her successful Kannada films include Badukuva Daari (1966), Mavana Magalu (1965), Nanna Kartavya (1965), Chinnada Gombe (1964) and Mane Aliya (1964). Jayalalithaa holds the record for having been the Tamil actress with maximum silver jubilee hits in her career - 85 hits of 92 Tamil films as main female lead heroine and in addition she also has all 28 films in Telugu as silver jubilee hits.  She was the highest paid Indian actress from 1965-1980. She made guest appearances in 9 films and 6 of her films were dubbed into Hindi. She had 119 box office hits between 1961 and 1980, of the total 125 films she did as the main female lead. Jayalalitha made a brief appearance as a chief minister crusading for prohibition in 1992 Neenga Nalla Irukkanum. Jayalalithaa won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress for Thanga Gopuram in 1971, Raman Thediya Seethai in 1972, Suryagandhi in 1973, Thirumangalyam in 1974, Yarukkum Vetkam Illai in 1975. Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress were not given in the years 1971 to 1976.  However, in 1977, the awards for Best Actress and Best Actor were announced for the years 1971 to 1976 by way of honorary certificates by the government led by the then chief minister, Ramachandran. She has done mythological films like Kandan Karunai, Aadhi Parashakti, Shri Krishna Satya, Shri Krishna Vijayam, Shri Rama Katha, Shri Krishna Leelai, Shakti Leelai, Ganga Gowri, Annai Velankanni, and Jesus. Her period dramas include Ayirathil Oruvan, Neerum Neruppum, Mani Magudam, Adimai Penn, Ali Baba 40 Dongalu, Arasa Katalai, and Baghdad Perazhagi. She acquired the reputation of being a multi-faceted actor equally comfortable in fantasy and mythological genres as well as in modern social dramas.  She and Saroja Devi have been cited as the first female superstars of Tamil Cinema. The directors who regularly casted her in their films include C. V. Rajendran, A. Bhimsingh, K. Shankar, B. R. Panthulu, P. Neelakantan, K. S. Gopalakrishnan, A. C. Tirulokchandar, T. R. Ramanna, Muktha Srinivasan and M.A. Thirumugam.

 Political career: Early political career

 Jayalalithaa claims that Ramachandran, who had been chief minister for the state since 1977, was instrumental in introducing her to politics. In 1982, she joined the AIADMK, which was founded by Ramachandran. Her maiden public speech, "Pennin Perumai" ("The Greatness of a Woman"), was delivered at the AIADMK's political conference in the same year. In 1983, she became propaganda secretary for the party and was selected as its candidate in the by-election for the Tiruchendur Assembly constituency. Ramachandran wanted her to be a member of the Rajya Sabha because of her fluency in English. Jayalalithaa was nominated and elected to that body in 1984 and retained her seat until 1989. Her success in her role as propaganda secretary caused resentment among high-ranking members of the party. By engineering a rift between her and Ramachandran, these members influenced Ramachandran to stop her writing about her personal life in a Tamil magazine. Despite these machinations, she remained admired by the rank and file of the party. In 1984, when Ramachandran was incapacitated due to a stroke, Jayalalithaa was said to have attempted to take over the position of chief minister or the party on the pretext that his health would prevent him from the proper execution of his duties.  She successfully led the campaign in the 1984 general elections, in which the ADMK allied with the Congress.  Following his death three years later, the AIADMK split into two factions: one supported his widow, Janaki Ramachandran, and the other favoured Jayalalithaa. Janaki was selected as the Chief Minister on 7 January 1988 with the support of 96 members; due in part to irregularities by speaker P.H. Pandian, who dismissed six members to ease her victory, she won a motion of confidence in the house. However, Rajiv Gandhi used Article 356 of the Constitution of India to dismiss the Janaki-led government and impose president's rule on the state. Jayalalithaa contested the subsequent 1989 elections on the basis of being MGR's political heir.

 Leader of the Opposition, 1989

 She was elected to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly in 1989 as a representative of the Bodinayakkanur (State Assembly Constituency). This election saw the Jayalalithaa-led faction of the AIADMK win 27 seats and Jayalalithaa became the first woman to be elected Leader of the Opposition. In February 1989, the two factions of ADMK merged and they unanimously accepted Jayalalithaa as their leader and the "Two leaves" symbol of the party was restored.  On 25 March 1989, quoted as one of the worst incidents to have happened in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, there was heavy violence inside the house among the ruling DMK party members and the opposition. Jayalilatha was brutally attacked and visibly molested by the ruling DMK members in front of the assembly speaker on the behest of Chief Minister Karunanidhi. Jayalalitha left the Assembly with her torn saree and this scene created huge sympathy for her and on the other hand people cursed the DMK leader and its member for meting out such ill-treatment on her. Jayalalitha drew a parallel with the shameful disrobing of Draupadi in the epic Mahabharata.  At the peak of the situation, when Jayalalithaa was about to leave the house, which is seen by a section of the media as "not until I enter the house as a Chief Minister".  Though some sections of media term it as a theatrics launched by Jayalalithaa, it got a lot of media coverage and sympathy from the public.  During the 1989 general elections, the ADMK allied with the Congress party and had a significant victory. The ADMK, under her leadership, won the by-elections in Marungapuri, Madurai East and Peranamallur assembly constituencies.

First term as Chief Minister, 1991

In 1991, following the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi days before the elections, her alliance with the Indian National Congress enabled her to ride the wave of sympathy that gave the coalition victory.  The ADMK alliance with the Congress won 225 out of the 234 seats contested and won all 39 constituencies in the centre.  Re-elected to the assembly, she became the first female, and the youngest, chief minister, of Tamil Nadu, to serve a full term, serving from 24 June 1991 to 12 May 1996.  In 1992, her government introduced the "Cradle Baby Scheme". At that time the ratio of male to female in some parts of Tamil Nadu was skewed by the practice of female infanticide and the abortion of female foetuses. The government established centres in some areas, these being equipped to receive and place into adoption unwanted female babies. The scheme was extended in 2011.  Her party had 26 elected members to the assembly. Her government was the first to introduce police stations operated solely by women. She introduced 30% quota for women in all police jobs and established as many as 57 all-women police stations. There were other all-women establishments like libraries, stores, banks and co-operative elections.

Loss of power, 1996

The Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK lost power in the 1996 elections, when it won 4 of the 168 seats that they contested. Jayalalithaa was herself defeated by the DMK candidate in Bargur Constituency.  The outcome has been attributed to an anti-incumbency sentiment and several allegations of corruption and malfeasance against her and her ministers.  The wedding event of her foster son Sudhakaran, who married a granddaughter of the Tamil film actor Shivaji Ganesan, was held on 7 September 1995 at Chennai and was viewed on large screens by over 150,000 people. The event holds two Guinness World Records: one is for the most guests at a wedding and the other is for being the largest wedding banquet.  Subsequently, in November 2011, Jayalalithaa told a special court than the entire Rs. 6 Crore expenses associated with the wedding were paid by the family of the bride.  There were several corruption cases filed against her by the ruling DMK government headed by Karunanidhi. Jayalalitha was arrested on 7 December 1996 and was remanded to 30-day judicial custody in connection with the Colour TV scam, which charged her with receiving kickbacks to the tune of ?10.13 crore. The investigation alleged that the amount through the TV dealers were routed in the form of cheques to a relative of Sasikala, who had quoted Jayalalitha's residence as hers. She earlier filed an anticipatory bail in the trail court, which was rejected on 7 December 1996.  She was acquitted in the case on 30 May 2000 by the trial court and the High Court upheld the order of the lower court.

Second term as Chief Minister, 2001

Jayalalithaa was barred from standing as a candidate in the 2001 elections because she had been found guilty of criminal offences, including allegedly obtaining property belonging to a state-operated agency called TANSI. Although she appealed to the Supreme Court, having been sentenced to five years' imprisonment, the matter had not been resolved at the time of the elections.  Despite this, the AIADMK won a majority and she was installed as Chief Minister as a non-elected member of the state assembly on 14 May 2001.  She was also convicted in Pleasant Stay hotel case on 3 February 2000 by a trial court to one year imprisonment. Jayalalithaa was acquitted in both the TANSI and Pleasant Stay Hotel cases on 4 December 2001 and the Supreme Court upheld the order of the High Court on 24 November 2003. Her appointment was legally voided in September 2001 when the Supreme Court ruled that she could not hold it whilst convicted of criminal acts.  O. Panneerselvam, a minister in her party, was subsequently installed as the Chief Minister. However, his government was purported to have been puppeted and micro-managed by Jayalalithaa. Subsequently, in March 2003, Jayalalithaa assumed the position of Chief Minister once more, having been acquitted of some charges by the Madras High Court.  This cleared the way for her to contest a mid-term poll to the Andipatti constituency, after the sitting MLA for the seat, gave up his membership, which she won by a handsome margin.  India's first company of female police commandos was set up in Tamil Nadu in 2003. They underwent the same training as their male counterparts, covering the handling of weapons, detection and disposal of bombs, driving, horseriding, and adventure sports. 

Third term as Chief Minister, 2011

 In April 2011, the AIADMK was part of a 13-party alliance that won the 14th state assembly elections. Jayalalithaa was sworn in as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for the third time on 16 May 2011, having been elected unanimously as the leader of the AIADMK party subsequent to those elections.  On 19 December 2011, Jayalalithaa expelled her long-time close aide Sasikala Natarajan and 13 others from the AIADMK. Most of the party members welcomed her decision,  and on 2 February 2012, Tehelka magazine claimed that Natarajan and some of her relatives were conspiring to kill her by poisoning her food over a period of time.  The matter was resolved by 31 March, when Sasikala Natarajan was reinstated as a party member after issuing a written apology.

 Disproportionate Assets case, 2014

 On 27 September 2014, Jayalalithaa was sentenced to four years in jail and fined Rs 100 crore by the Special Court in Bangalore. She was convicted in an 18-year-old disproportionate assets case that was launched by Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy (now member of Bharatiya Janata Party) on 20 August 1996 on the basis of Income Tax Department report on her. Jayalalithaa's close aide Sasikala Natarajan, her niece Ilavarasi, her nephew and the chief minister's disowned foster son Sudhakaran were also convicted. They were sentenced to four years in jail and fined Rs 10 crores each. Special Judge John Michael D'Cunha convicted her to owning assets to the tune of Rs 66.65 crores (which includes 2,000 acres of land, 30 kg of gold and 12,000 saris) disproportionate to her known sources of income during 1991-96 when she was chief minister for the first time. The verdict was delivered by a makeshift court in the Parappana Agrahara prison complex in the presence of Jayalalithaa and the other accused. She was automatically disqualified from the post of CM and the legislative assembly of Tamil Nadu and was the first Indian chief minister to be disqualified.  O. Panneerselvam, a minister in her party, succeeded her as the Chief Minister on 29 September 2014.  On 17 October 2014, the Supreme Court granted her two months' bail and suspended her sentence.  On 11 May 2015, a special Bench of the Karnataka High Court set aside her conviction on appeal, acquitting her and also her alleged associates - Sasikala Natarajan, her niece Ilavarasi, her nephew, and her disowned foster son Sudhakaran.

 Return as Chief Minister, 2015

 The acquittal allowed her once again to hold office and on 23 May 2015, Jayalalithaa was sworn in as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for the fifth time. She was subsequently re-elected by the electorate of the Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar (State Assembly Constituency) of North Chennai in the by-election held on 27 June 2015. In a landslide victory, she polled more than 88 per cent votes of the 74.4 per cent turnout, winning by a margin of over 1.6 lakh votes.

 Elected as Chief Minister in 2016

 Jayalalithaa was again elected as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in the May 2016 elections. She retained the R. K. Nagar constituency with a margin of 39,545 votes over her DMK rival. She is the second Chief Minister after M. G. Ramachandran, to serve consecutive terms as Chief Minister. In her victory speech, she commented, "Even when 10 parties allied themselves against me, I did not have a coalition and I placed my faith in God and built an alliance with the people. It is clear that the people have faith in me and I have total faith in the people." 

 Honours

 In 1972, Jayalalithaa was awarded the Kalaimamani by the Government of Tamil Nadu. She has received several honorary doctorates and other honours, beginning with an award from the University of Madras in 1991

Death and reactions

On 22 September 2016, Jayalalithaa was admitted to Apollo Hospitals in Chennai, as she suffered from infection and acute dehydration. Her official duties were handed over to her aide O. Panneerselvam on 12 October. She was also said to be suffering from severe pulmonary infection and septicaemia, which were cured. On 4 December, she was re-admitted to the critical care unit after suffering a cardiac arrest around 16:45. The hospital released a press statement stating that her condition was "very critical" and that she was on life support. On 5 December, the hospital officially announced her death 23:30 IST.

The central government declared a one day national mourning with the national flag in all government buildings flying at half-mast, while the state of Tamil Nadu declared seven days of mourning, Her body was kept in state at her residence in Poes Garden and Rajaji Hall. Her last rites were performed on the evening of 6 December and she was interred in the northern end of the Marina Beach in Chennai in sandalwood casket, near the grave of her mentor M.G. Ramachandran. Various film celebrities including Rajinikanth, Vijay, Dhamu, Nayantara,Prabhu,Suriya, Sivakarthikeyan, STR, Vijay Sethupathi, Sarathkumar, Radha Ravi, Vyjanthimala, Vadivelu, Ilaiyaraaja, Sachu, Sivakumar, Saroja Devi, Thanu, Karthi, Ponvannan, Nassar, Vishal, Vivek, Khushoo, Sundar C, Vijayakumar, Arun Vijay, Revati, Simran as well as politicians and politicians including President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, C. Vidyasagar Rao, M. K. Stalin, Vaiko, Vijaykanth, Rahul Gandhi, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Venkaiah Naidu and Pon Radhakrishnan and more paid homage to her at Rajaji Hall. The final rites were performed by her nephew Deepak Jayakumar.

Chithra Laksmanan started his career as a journalist. Later when his friend P. Bharathiraja became the director, Chithra Laksmanan had the opportunity of working with him as an associate director and worked more than 25 films with him in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. His maiden venture as a Film Producer was Mann Vasanai directed by Bharathiraja. Revathi and Pandian were introduced in that film which ran for more than 300 days. Then he produced number of films with Sivaji Ganesan, Kamal Haasan, Vijayakanth, Sathyaraj, Prabhu, Karthik and many others.



In 1987 M. G. Ramachandran, then chief minister of Tamil Nadu presided over the 100th day function of “Jallikkattu” produced by Chithra Laksmanan.


His first directorial venture was Soora Samharam with Kamal Hassan and later he directed Peria Thambi with Prabhu and Chinna Raja with Karthik in the lead role.


He served as the Secretary of Tamil Film Producers Council for four years. And served as the Executive committee member in South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce, Film Federation of India, and Tamil Film Directors Association for many years. He had the opportunity to be the Jury member for National Film Awards in the year of 2002. In the Tamil Film Producers Council elections held in the month of October 2011 he was elected as an Executive committee member of the Council


He turned as an actor in Jappanil Kalyanaraman and acted more than 50 films and his recent film Boss Engira Bhaskaran is a runaway hit. His first entry in small screen was in Ganga Yamuna Saraswathi and he is currently acting in Idhayam with Seetha which is being telecasted in Sun TV.


He published the book 80 Years of Tamil Cinema- Part 1 in 2011. It is an account documenting the History of Tamil cinema with some rare pictures and new informations about the Tamil cinema evolution in the particular period between 1931 to 2011.