15.Vijayakanth

Vijayakanth
Portrait of Vijayakanth
Born	Vijayaraj Prabhakar Alagarswami 25 August 1952 (age 59) Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India
Residence	Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Occupation	Leader of Opposition in the Tamilnadu Legislative Assembly, film actor, film producer, director
Years active	1979–present
Home town	Madurai
Political party	Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam
Spouse	Premalatha (1990–present)
Children	Vijay Prabhakar shanmuga Pandian
Parents	K. N. Alagarswami and Aandal Azhagarswami

Vijayakanth (born 25 August 1952 as Vijayaraj Prabhakar Alagarswami) is an Indian actor and politician. He is the founder of the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam and a Member of Legislative Assembly representing Rishivandiyam, Tamil Nadu, India.

  Early life

Vijayakanth was born as Vijayaraj on 25 August 1952[2] in Tirumangalam, Madurai to K. N. Alagarswami and Andal in a Thottia Naicker family. Alagarswami was Madurai's Councillor for two terms. He married Premalatha on 31 January 1990 and has two sons, Vijay Prabhakar and Shanmuga Pandian. Upon entering the film industry to pursue an acting career, director Khaja (who directed his first film) changed his name to "Amirtaraj" and then "Vijayakanth", dropping the "raj" out of his name and suffixing "kanth". He has also been nicknamed "Captain" and "Puratchi Kalaignar".[3] In 2011 Tamilnadu election his party DMDK won 29 seats out of 41 contested seats and he became the leader of opposition.

Acting career

Inikum Ilamai was his first film, which was directed by M. A. Kaja. After this, he acted in Dhooraththu Idi Muzhakkam, Neerottam and Agal Vilakku. He is nicknamed 'Captain' after the 1991 movie Captain Prabhakaran which is his 100th film. Vijayakanth has starred in films including Vanathai Pola, Sethupathi IPS, Captain Prabhakaran, Pulan Visaaranai, Oomai Vizhigal, Senthurapoove, Ulavu Thurai, Periyanna, Vallarasu, Ramana, Neranja Manasu, and Sathriyan

1980s

This period was a part of Vijayakanth in Kollywood. Some of the Vijayakanth films in the eighties include Sattam Sirikkiradhu, Auto Raja, Naan Soottiya Malar, Saatchi, Nalla Naal, Veettukku Oru Kannagai, Nooravathu Naal, Vetri, Madras Vaathiyar, Madurai Sooran, Kudumbam, Naalai Unadhu Naal, Naaney Raja Naaney Mandhiri, Amman Koyil Kizhakkale, Annai En Dheivam, Manakanakku, Oru Iniya Udhayam, Vasantha Raagam, Poomazhai Pozhiyudhu, Sattam Oru Vilaiyaattu, Siraipparavai, Uzhavan Magan, Veera Pandiyan, Therkathi Kallan, Sendhoorappoovey, Meenatchi Thiruvilaiyadal, Ponmana Selvan, Paattukku Oru Thalaivanand En Purushanthaan Enakku Mattumthaan. His First Movie is "Dhoorathu Idi Muzhakkam"

 1990s

Vijayakanth acted in a good number of blockbuster films in the nineties also. Some of them are Pudhu Paadagan, Pulanvisaranai(a blockbuster film directed by R.K Selvamani), Sathriyan,En Aasai Machaan,Thayagam,Ezhai Jaathi,Karuppu Nila,Captain Prabhakaran(a blockbuster film directed by R.K Selvamani and given 100th hit Film in Industry, all other actors 100th film flopped including Rajinikanth), Chinna Gounder, Sendhoorappandi, Enga Mudhalaali, Sedhupathi IPS, Thirumoorthi, Alexander,Dharma Chakkaram,Periya Maruthu,Thaai Mozhi(Guest Appearence(Sarath kumar as a Hero), Thamizh Selvan directed by BharathiRaja,Honestraj, Veeram Vilanja Mannu, Ulavuthurai, Periyanna and Kallazhagar.

2000s

Vallarasu, Vaanathai Pola directed by Vikraman, Simhasanam, Vaanchinathan, Narasimma, Kannupada Poguthaiya, Thavasi, Devan, Thennavan, Rajjiyam, Engal Anna, Sokkathangam, Ramana (a blockbuster film directed by A. R. Murugadoss),perarasu,Sudheshi, Arasangam (150th film directed by R.Madhesh), Sabari,Engal aasan, Mariyathai, and Virudhagiri (vijayakanth's first directional venture).

Political career

He formed the center-left winged Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), a regional political party in Tamil Nadu. He formally announced the party's formation on 14 September 2005 in Madurai. His party contested in all seats in 2006 assembly elections and won one seat contested by him. In 2011 election held on April 13, 2011 he formed an alliance with AIADMK and contested in 41 constituencies. His party saw phenomenal success by winning 29 of the 41 seats it had contested from. It is a significant day in the history of Tamil Nadu as DMDK has won more seats than the DMK and occupied the position of MLA for the second time. Vijayakanth emerged victorious from the Rishivandhiyam constituency in the 2011 state assembly elections.

14.Jayalalithaa Jayaram

J. Jayalalithaa
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
Incumbent
Assumed office 16 May 2011
Preceded by	M. Karunanidhi
Constituency	Srirangam
In office 2 March 2002 – 12 May 2006
Preceded by	O. Panneerselvam (Acting CM)
Succeeded by	M. Karunanidhi
Constituency	Andipatti
In office 14 May 2001 – 21 September 2001
Preceded by	M. Karunanidhi
Succeeded by	O. Panneerselvam (Acting CM)
Constituency	Did not contest
In office 24 June 1991 – 12 May 1996
Preceded by	President's rule
Succeeded by	M. Karunanidhi
Constituency	Bargur
Personal details
Born	24 February 1948 (age 64) Mysore, India
Political party	AIADMK
Residence	Poes Garden, Chennai, India
Religion	Hinduism

Jayalalithaa Jayaram (born 24 February 1948, and commonly referred to as J. Jayalalitha), is the Chief Minister of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. She was a popular film star in Indian cinema before her entry into politics, having appeared in many Tamil and Telugu films, as well as several produced in Hindi and Kannada. She is the incumbent general secretary of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). She is called Amma ('Mother') and Puratchi Thalaivi ('Revolutionary Leader') by her followers.

Although there have been claims that Jayalalithaa was introduced to politics by Ramachandran, she has denied this. She was a member of the Rajya Sabha elected from Tamil Nadu during the period of 1984–89. Soon after the death of Ramachandran, Jayalalithaa proclaimed herself as his political heir.[2][3] She is the first elected female Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu

  Early life and education

Jayalalithaa was born into a Tamil Iyengar family on 24 February 1948 at Melukote, in Pandavapura taluk of Mandya district, Karnataka. In accordance with Iyengar custom[citation needed] she was given two names, thus her other name is Komalavalli. Her grandfather was in the service of the then Mysore kingdom as a surgeon, and the prefix Jaya (the victorious) was added to the names of various of her family members to reflect their association with Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar of Mysore.

Jayalalithaa’s father died at her age of two.Her mother then moved to Bangalore, where her parents lived, with Jayalalithaa. Her mother eventually began to work as an actress in Tamil cinema, based in Chennai, having taken the screen name of Sandhya.While in Bangalore, Jayalalithaa attended Bishop Cotton Girls' High School.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 appears not to have accepted the admission offered to her at Stella Maris College, Chennai.

Early career

Her mother persuaded her to work in films when Jayalalithaa was still in school, taking assurances from producers that shooting would take place only during summer vacations and that she would not miss her classes. Jayalalithaa acted in an English language film, Epistle, released in 1961. She made her debut as the lead actress in Kannada films while still in school, aged 15, in Chinnada Gombe (1964).

Jayalalithaa's debut in Tamil cinema was a role in Vennira Aadai (1965), directed by C. V. Sridhar. The following year, she made her debut in Telugu cinema with the film Manushulu Mamathalu. She was the first heroine to appear in skirts in Tamil films.

Between 1965 and 1972 she acted frequently with M. G. Ramachandran and she also worked with B. Saroja Devi in Arasa Kattalai. Her other early roles were in suspense films such as Naan and comedies such as Galatta Kalyanam.[citation needed]

Later career

In 1972, Jayalalithaa acted in Pattikada Pattanama opposite Sivaji Ganesan, which went onto win the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil in 1973. The film also fetched her a Filmfare Award for Best Actress. Her performance in Suryakanthi and Chandradhoyam were critically acclaimed and the former won her another Filmfare Award for Best Actress in 1973. The same year she acted in the Telugu film Sri Krishna Satya and won her third Filmfare Award for Best Actress.[citation needed]

Her other films with Sivaji Ganesan include Galatta Kalyanam and Deiva Magan. Deiva Magan also holds the distinction of being the first Tamil film to be submitted by India for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.[7] She continued pairing up with younger actors such as Ravichandran and Jaishankar in a number of films such as Vairam, Baghdad Perazhagi.[citation needed]

Later Tamil films in which she acted included Kandan Karunai and she also starred in a Bollywood film. Izzat, which saw her paired with Dharmendra.Her last film was Nadhiyai Thedi Vandha Kadal which was released in 1980.

Political career

Although there have been claims that Ramachandran, who had been Chief Minister for the state since 1977, was instrumental in introducing Jayalalithaa to politics, she has denied this. In 1982, she joined the AIADMK, which had been founded by Ramachandran.Her maiden public speech Pennin Perumai (the Pride of Women) was delivered at the political conference of the AIADMK that year.In 1983, she became Propaganda Secretary for the party and was also selected as AIADMK 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.She was nominated and elected to that body as a Member of Parliament in 1984[clarification needed and retained her seat until 1989.

13.Muthuvel Karunanidhi

M. Karunanidhi

M. Karunanidhi in Chief Minister's office

15th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu

In office

May 13, 2006 – May 15, 2011

Preceded by

J.Jayalalithaa

Succeeded by

J.Jayalalithaa

Constituency

Chepauk

12th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu

In office

13 May 1996 – 13 May 2001

Preceded by

J.Jayalalithaa

Succeeded by

O. Panneerselvam

Constituency

Chepauk

10th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu

In office

27 January 1989 – 30 January 1991

Preceded by

Janaki Ramachandran

Succeeded by

J. Jayalalithaa

Constituency

Harbour

4th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu

In office

15 March 1971 – 31 January 1976

Preceded by

President's rule

Succeeded by

President's rule

Constituency

Saidapet

3rd Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu

In office

10 February 1969 – 4 January 1971

Preceded by

V.R. Nedunchezhiyan (acting)

Succeeded by

President's rule

Constituency

Saidapet

Personal details

Born

Dakshinamurthi

June 3, 1924 (age 87)

Thirukkuvalai, Madras Presidency, British India

Political party

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

Spouse(s)

Padmavathi (deceased)

Dayalu

Rajathi

Children

M. K. Muthu

M. K. Azhagiri

M. K. Stalin

M. K. Tamilarasu

M. K. Selvi

M. K. Kanimozhi

Residence

Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Religion

Atheist

Muthuvel Karunanidhi (born Dakshinamurthi, June 3, 1924)is an Indian politician and a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He is the head of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK),a Dravidian political party in the state of Tamil Nadu. He has been the leader of the DMK since the death of its founder, C. N. Annadurai, in 1969 and has served as chief minister five times (1969–71, 1971–76, 1989–91, 1996–2001 and 2006–2011). He holds the record of winning his seat in every election in which he has participated in a political career spanning more than 60 years.In the 2004 Lok Sabha Elections, he led the DMK-led DPA (UPA and Left Parties) in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry to win all 40 Lok Sabha seats. In the following 2009 Lok Sabha Elections, he was able to increase the number of seats for the DMK from 16 to 18 seats, and led the UPA in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, to win 28 seats, even with a significantly smaller coalition. He is also a playwright and screenwriter in Tamil cinema. He is called by his supporters as Kalaignar, "scholar of arts").

 Early life

Muthuvel Karunanidhi was born as Dakshinamurthy in Thirukuvalai in Tiruvarur, British India,on 3 June 1924 to Muthuvel and Anjugam.He belongs to Isai Vellalar community based in Tamilnadu.

Personal life

He has claimed that the secret of his energy and success lies in the daily practice of yoga. He married three times; his wives are the late Padmavathy, Dayalu Ammal and Rajathiammal.

His sons are M. K. Muthu, M. K. Alagiri, M. K. Stalin, and M. K. Tamilarasu. His daughters are Selvi and Kanimozhi. Kanimozhi is a Rajya Sabha MP. M. K. Muthu, his eldest son was born to Padmavathy, who died early. Azhagiri, Stalin, Selvi and Tamilarasu were born to Dayaluammal, while Kanimozhi is the only daughter from his third wife, Rajathiammal.[citation needed] He has donated his house, that is to be converted into a free hospital for the poor after his death.

Screenwriting

Karunanidhi began his career as a screenwriter in the Tamil film industry.Through his wit and oratorical skills he rapidly rose as a popular politician. He was famous for writing historical and social (reformist) stories which propagated the socialist and rationalist ideals of the Dravidian movement to which he belonged. He first began using Tamil cinema to propagate his political ideas through the movie Parasakthi. Parasakthi was a turning point in Tamil cinema, as it espoused the ideologies of the Dravidian movement and also introduced two prominent actors of Tamil filmdom, Sivaji Ganesan and S. S. Rajendran.The movie was initially banned but was eventually released in 1952. It was a huge box office hit, but its release was marred with controversies. The movie was opposed by orthodox Hindus since it contained elements that criticized Brahmanism.Two other movies written by Karunanidhi that contained such messages were Panam and Thangarathnam.These movies contained themes such as widow remarriage, abolition of untouchability, self-respect marriages, abolition of zamindari and abolition of religious hypocrisy.[19] As his movies and plays with strong social messages became popular, they suffered from increased censorship; two of his plays in the 1950s were banned.

Literature

Karunanidhi is known for his contributions to Tamil literature. His contributions cover a wide range: poems, letters, screenplays, novels, biographies, historic novels, stageplays, dialogues, songs, etc. He has written Kuraloviam for Thirukural, Tholkaappiya Poonga, Poombukar, as well as many poems, essays and books.

Apart from literature, Karunanidhi has also contributed to the Tamil language through art and architecture. Like the Kuraloviyam, in which Kalaignar wrote about Thirukkural, through the construction of Valluvar Kottam he gave an architectural presence to Thiruvalluvar, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. At Kanniyakumari, Karunanidhi has constructed a 133-foot-high statue of Thiruvalluvar, which portrays his feelings about the scholar.

Books

Books Karunanidhi's writings include: Sanga Thamizh, Thirukkural Urai, Ponnar Sankar, Romapuri Pandian, Thenpandi Singam, Vellikizhamai, Nenjukku Needhi,Iniyavai Irubathu and Kuraloviam. His books of prose and poetry number more than 100.