360 Degree: Tamil Nadu's dictatorial diva

M.G. Ramachandran had it easy in making a smooth transition from a silver screen messiah to a do-gooder chief minister of Tamil Nadu. A subtle tweaking of celluloid image, which was carefully crafted by an army of ideologically-driven and commercially-motivated cinema screenwriters, directors and producers, and peddling it in electoral politics – and, Bingo, the transformation was smooth and seamless.

Indian cinema, mostly prone to being a lazy copycat, produced a successful sequel in the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh by actor-turned chief minister N.T. Ramarao. As is with movies, there were other lacklustre ones, not to mention a spectacular flop or two. But for Jayalalithaa, who appeared as one of the several voluptuous co-stars of M.G.R. in movies, there were no easy transitions. In fact, she had to initially, but only fleetingly, leverage her on-and-off screen persona of being a image-building prop of M.G.R., only to brutally shed it and emerge as a woman of her own right. And, that will surely be a subject of scores of academic dissertations intersecting gender, media and politics.

The uniqueness of the “Jayalalithaa phenomenon” is the way she systematically dismantled the sexualised image of being an unconventional and quasi-legitimate second fiddle to a cinema and political giant to emerge from the male shadow and build, or reinvent, a new persona by bringing to the fore her real and hitherto latent attributes. There will no parallels in a long time to come. The only way she could have emasculated the patriarchal power was by being mercurial, dictatorial, ambitious, whimsical, and desexualised political diva.

As she found her feet in politics and consolidated her grip over the party apparatus and backed by phenomenal popular support, Jayalalithaa went about projecting herself systematically not only as a tough cookie, but also a mercurial and whimsical chieftain – being unpredictable, even seemingly bordering on irrationality ensured that no party deputy could ever dare to seek, leave alone demand, explanations. Throwing even seasoned and senior leaders off -balance – with innumerable reshuffles and dropping powerful men without any explicit rhyme or reason – was critical to wipe out semblances of even mild assertion and opposition. By demonstrating time and again her unquestionable power to take decisions was a part of a carefully cultivated mystique.

For a woman, that too a single woman without any male or family support system, surviving in the world of male-dominated politics can be quite challenging. The time-tested way to survive and thrive was by being dictatorial and authoritarian. Given how skewed the gendered power equations are and the extent of in-built anti-women norms and prejudices in the society, especially in politics, being a democrat is impractical. She learnt her lessons from trailblazers like Indira Gandhi and Margaret Thatcher.

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For Jayalalithaa’s larger than life image, it was important to constantly project herself as an ambitious leader. It was part of the “powerful leader” package. Backed by convent education and a proven track record of being an able but tough administrator, she could pitch for a national role just to keep the “national parties and leaders” at bay – so that they could not dare to destabilise  her at home. Despite enjoying little clout outside her home state, Jayalalithaa was politically shrewd enough to exploit compulsions of coalition politics to prove her point.

Finally, the transformation of Jayalalithaa from a glamorous heroine (Kavarchi Kanni as appeared in early film credits) to a radical leader (Puratchi Thalaivi) to Amma*, deserves an in-depth study. And, to ward off any salacious scandals involving men, she went beyond the sisterly titles of Mayawati’s behenji and Mamata Banerjee’s didi to assume the role of “amma”, a desexualised matriarchal identity that washed off the last traces of her on-screen vivacity and oomph. She also had the courage to choose another woman – Sasikala - as her trusted confidante and companion – yet again, challenging rigid patriarchal norms.

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What does the future hold for the AIADMK party and its government? M.G.R., despite being a towering leader, never felt secure enough to groom a male successor to him. He left behind two women – his wife Janaki and his protégé Jayalalithaa – to fight for his legacy. Jayalalithaa deservingly won it hands down. Likewise, Jayalalithaa too did not leave behind a clear male successor, after failed attempts through a foster son who proved to be a disaster, further reinforcing her distrust in men. Instead, she left behind a woman to fight for the spoils of her political legacy and personal fortunes. Will Sashikala come out of Jayalalithaa’s shadows and re-enact part two of the Jayalalithaa act? It is intermission, go and grab your cola and popcorn tub. Picture abhi baaki hain mere dost.

(The writer teaches journalism in a Chennai college)