J Jayalalithaa, who passed away on Monday, December 5, remains a role model for many aspiring actresses. Being a trained dancer, she had what filmmakers used to look for in an actress-to-be in those days – a good-looking face with dancing skills. Like many, she did not struggle to enter films as her mother Sandhya aka Vedavalli was a supporting artiste in films.
As a result, Jayalalithaa entered films with ease. She started her acting career as a child artiste in Kannada movie Sri Shaila Mahathme in 1961. Jaya got opportunity when the original girl, who was supposed to dance in the song, failed to turn up on time.
Gradually, offers started coming her way and she debuted as heroine in Kannada movie Chinnada Gombe. Vennira Aadai was her first Tamil movie as the female lead and the offers never dried up after her successful debut.
Jayalalithaa went on to act in over 140 movies. The major highlight in her career was the fact that she had paired up with MG Ramachandran in 28 box office hits between 1965 and 1973.
Language was never been a barrier for this talent as she worked in all the leading film industries of South India. The inspiring part of her journey was that the actress was part of 100 plus box office hits in her successful career, which easily made her the highest paid actress of her times.
Below are the top 10 movies of the actress:
Aayirathil Oruvan: BR Panthulu's creation was Jayalalithaa's first movie with legendary MG Ramachandran. The movie won critical acclaim as well as witnessed commercial success. The chemistry between the lead actors was one of the major attractions of the 1965 flick.
Adimaippenn: Jayalalithaa enacts two roles of a peasant and a queen, two very distinct characters, which she carried off with equal conviction. The movie starred MG Ramachandran in the lead. It may be recalled that the original choice for the female lead was B Saroja Devi.
Galatta Kalyanam: Galatta Kalyanam starred Sivaji Ganeshan and Jayalalithaa in the leads. It was a romantic comedy drama that brought out Jaya's flair for comedy.
Raman Thediya Seethai: Jayalalithaa won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress for Raman Thediya Seethai in 1972. This movie was her 26th outing with MG Ramachandran. The Pa Neelakandhan-directorial garnered positive reviews from the critics and became a superhit at the box office.
Ragasiya Police 115: Ragasiya Police 115 was a spy film, in which Jayalalithaa had paired up with MG Ramachandran again. The movie garnered an earth-shattering opening in 1968 and ran for 100 days in many centres.
Aadhiparasakthi: She was seen in the role of a goddess in Gemini Ganeshan-starrer movie. Her performance was well-received by the audience.
Nam Naadu: This film happened when MG Ramachandran was looking out for a perfect launchpad for his political entry. It was a remake of the Telugu hit Kathanayakudu, starring NTR and Jayalalithaa.
Engal Thangam: It was thriller film directed by the famous team Krishnan-Panju. MG Ramachandran and Jayalalitha featured in this film. It was a super hit movie and ran for more than 100 days in Chennai, Madurai and Trichy.
Nayakudu Vinayakudu: It is a Telugu movie which starred Akkineni Nageswara Rao. The blockbuster movie remains the last movie of the actress, Jayalalithaa.
Pattikaattu Ponnaiya: For the fans of MG Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa, this was a special project as it was the last and 28th movie that they worked together in.
