The emergence of the Amma phenomenon in Tamil Nadu and the reason behind it do not find any mention in ‘The Empress’
At first glance, The Empress by Kalyani Shankar looks like a timeline of J. Jayalalithaa’s political career. Opening with a brief note on her childhood and forced acting career, the narrative moves on to describe her struggle in politics. The author even takes the readers to the drama unfolding in Tamil Nadu’s political arena in the aftermath of her death.
Disappointingly, this condensed biography of Puratchi Thalaivi reveals very little about the most enigmatic facet of her life — her relationship with Sasikala. There are no exclusive details about her personal and political life in the book. For instance, the details about the dramatic events leading up to Jaya’s elevation as the AIADMK supremo were not anything new.
Jayalalithaa could be a fascinating subject for a biographer, but this book tells almost nothing about her intimate life. Moreover, the emergence of the Amma phenomenon in Tamil Nadu and the reason behind it do not find any mention in the 130-page book. It feels more like a report than a biography of a powerful political icon like Jayalalithaa. It also makes the reader wonder whether Jaya’s life was so banal and insignificant that it can be encapsulated in just a few pages.
The actor-turned-politician led the AIADMK for nearly three decades with an iron fist by inheriting the everlasting legacy of her mentor MGR. It is the vote bank of MGR, which is still energising the AIADMK. It was apparent that Jaya was ambitious and power hungry and even MGR kept her away from the AIADMK core in his final days. Even after succeeding MGR, she was in a constant state of paranoia due to those tempestuous times. She never trusted anyone, nor did she groom second-rung leaders in the party.
Every time Jaya was pulled down and had to struggle with legal battles, especially on the ‘Pleasant Stay’ hotel case and a disproportionate assets case, she made a Phoenix-like comeback. This is probably the only episode of Amma’s life that comes out very well here in the book.
Coming from a seasoned journalist like Kalyani Shankar, one would definitely expect the book to have details on her statesmanship. Also, the fact that despite being a state leader, she could draw global attention from people like former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Hollywood actor and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger who met her in 2011 and 2014, respectively, has been completely ignored by the author.
If nothing else, the author could have compared Jayalalithaa with other powerful leaders such as Indira Gandhi and Margaret Thatcher.
The author nevertheless brings out some lesser known facts such as Jaya’s tenure as a film producer — she even used to be a columnist and a novelist at some point of time.
Despite many shortcomings, The Empress is an important read, especially for millennials, who could be interested in tracing Amma’s legacy.