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India.com
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- India.com
Meet actress, who featured in 1500 films in her 60 years career, worked with 5 chief ministers, real life was full of pain, she was…
In Indian cinema, where stars rise and fade, many artists have been there who left an unforgettable mark that not just created personal space for them but also became an example for upcoming generation that one must not think that life is like a cinema, enjoy it until you can. However, their real life had a completely different approach for them that only caused pain and sorrow. Today, we will be talking about one such actress, who wasn't just a performer, but also a powerhouse of talent. Let's read below! The Aachi Of Indian Cinema Here we are talking about Tamil comedian star Manorama , who was one of most renowned actresses from her time. The actress, with span of 60 years' career, acted in over 1,500 films and delivered more than 5,000 stage performances. Her comic timing and magnetic presence lit up screens across languages and generations. She earned a nickname from her ardent fans, Aachi , for often portraying powerful motherly roles that touched millions. The actress, born in lower lower-class family, made her debut in 1958 in GR Nathan's Maalayitta Mangai , which became a significant role for her career. Later, she featured in many highly acclaimed films, including Chinna Thambi, Maman Machan, Nattamai, Gemini, Saamy and many others. Later, after leaving significant mark in Tamil industry, actress tried her luck in Bollywood, which turned into a charm for her as she featured with actor Mehmood in Kunwara Baap . The film received positive response and became a box office hit. When Manorama Served With Renowned Ministers Like… The actress who primarily worked in Tamil cinema, also appeared in Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam films. In the 90s she also received Filmfare and National awards for her outstanding contribution to Indian Cinema. Later, during the 1996 Tamil Nadu assembly elections, she campaigned for the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), led by J. Jayalalithaa, which gave her a dynamic approach in the world of politics, too. In the upcoming years, she worked with five famous chief ministers that includes, C. N. Annadurai, M. Karunanidhi, M. G. Ramachandran, J. Jayalalithaa and N. T. Rama Rao. The Real and Reel Life Difference of the Comedy Queen The personal life of Manorama, also known as the comedy queen , was filled with sorrow. Her mother, Kasi Clockudaiyar, raised her while working as a maid in other homes. As her mother's health deteriorated, she was forced to leave school at the age of 11 to work as a maid. When she was 12 years old, she joined a play troupe and began acting. Manorama, who progressed from theatre to film and eventually to top actress position, broke financial barriers and achieved enormous fame but, her personal life, however, remained buried in sorrow. The actress had a love marriage in 1964 with businessman S. M. Ramanathan , but in 1966, after the birth of her son Bhupathi , her spouse abandoned her due to an astrologer's prediction. In the year 2015, due to long-term illness and multiple organ failure, the comedy queen of Indian Cinema bid farewell to this world.
NDTV
4 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Analysis: India's Big Political Families And Their Bitter Feuds
New Delhi: Every regional political party in India, barring one or two notable exceptions like the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in Tamil Nadu, are a family enterprise. Succession battles put father against son, brother against brother or sisters or cousins. It's the rule and not the exception. Two such battles are currently playing out in South Indian politics - one in the Bharatiya Rahstriya Samiti (BRS) between the party patriarch K Chandrashekar Rao's daughter K Kavitha and son KT Rama Rao, the other between the founder of the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) in Tamil Nadu, Dr S Ramadoss, and his son Dr Anbumani Ramadoss. These are both just the latest in a long list of bitter family, political soap operas that have infested Indian politics. It's more pronounced in the southern states simply because of the power of the regional forces. And, the battles always have strong personal, financial and emotional dimensions apart from the political. The rift in the BRS between former Chief Minister and party patriarch K Chandrashekar Rao's son KT Rama Rao and daughter K Kavitha is an open secret. It was waiting to explode, especially after the BRS's defeat in the 2023 Assembly elections, which was followed by the mighty Chandrashekar Rao's retreat into silence and keeping himself away from the public glare. Turn back time, and Chandrashekar Rao looked frail lying in a hospital bed in Hyderabad in December 2009, when I first met him. He had begun a fast unto death for Telangana on November 29, 2009, and when reporters arrived to meet him, it was his daughter K Kavitha who was attending to him and granting access. Her brother KT Rama Rao (KTR) was a first-time MLA by then. He had returned from the US and did not sound much like a politician, more like a sophisticated corporate voice. On December 9, in a midnight announcement, the Congress buckled to the KCR fast and made a knee-jerk announcement of its agreement to split united Andhra Pradesh and carve out Telangana. KCR had catapulted to fame, but the lobbying and bitter battle in the Congress over the decision continued in Delhi till 2014, when the bifurcation was finally implemented, much to the Congress's peril. Between 2010 and 2014, both Kavitha and KTR were actively building their profile. KTR, as the MLA, was firmly becoming the face of the party in the national media during the bitter and hectic campaign for Telangana. Kavitha was building her political and business network. She was spearheading the Bathukamma festival, a powerful cultural event for the state's identity. Harish Rao, KCR's nephew, much older than the brother and sister, was the long-time close confidant of the patriarch, but it was clear by 2014 that both the son and the daughter were taking centre stage. Harish seemed to have gravitated towards KTR. A sense of unease between the brother and sister was palpable, and the friction intensified with the party enjoying brute power. Kavitha had become a Member of Parliament from Nizamabad in 2014, and KTR a minister in KCR's government after the BRS swept the polls in the wake of the formation of Telangana in 2014, decimating the Congress. Kavitha furthered her business and political network in Delhi, and it was an open secret that brother and sister had their own power play, flexing their muscles. The BRS was at the peak of its power during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls - it had just swept an assembly poll in 2018 - when K Kavitha was defeated in Nizamabad - this, she believes, was internal sabotage against her. While she was made an MLC, she was arrested in the Delhi Liquor scam and was out in the cold. KTR had become the categorical number two in the state cabinet and seemed invincible. Then came the 2023 defeat for the BRS - a shock to KTR. Even during the 2023 campaign, one could sense Kavitha's unease at being sideline,d and she may not have been most excited for a BRS win. Till the defeat, KCR was the towering figure, but he was inaccessible, and Ram was playing point. Post the defeat, KCR has receded into silence, and it seemed clear that Kavitha wanted to become as much a face of the BRS opposition as KTR. She would not accept KTR as the leader. She has now openly made accusations, hitting out at her brother for plotting against her and even for merging the BRS with the BJP. The divisions in the family have been out in the open and are deeply personal. What is next is not clear, but Kavitha has a recent precedent in her own state's patriarchal landscape. Former Congress Chief Minister YS Rajashekar Reddy's son YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and daughter YS Sharmila have had an ugly split. While Sharmila was not a political face at all and stood firmly with Jagan after their father's demise, the rift with her brother began after the YSRCP swept to power in Andhra Pradesh in 2019. Like in most family disputes, the battle was not merely political. There were strong personal, emotional and financial layers to it. After she left the YSRCP and joined the Congress in 2024, Sharmila made accusations against her brother and her cousin Avinash Reddy - the Member of Parliament from Kadappa - in the 2019 murder of her uncle YS Vivekananda Reddy. There have also been bitter exchanges over the transfer of shares in a family-owned power company. The YSRCP was routed in the 2024 assembly elections, and the road ahead for the brother and the sister does not seem clear. Observers say too much water has flowed under the bridge. Whatever the reasons, the personal becomes political. Like in the case of the PMK, where former union cabinet minister Dr Anbumani Ramadass is fighting his father and founder of the party Dr Ramadass. Ramadass Sr even declared that it was a "mistake" to have made his son a cabinet minister in the first UPA government - Anbumani was the union health minister between 2004 and 09. Those close to the family say that apart from some political differences, a property dispute within the family and some bitter personal exchanges could have led to the public spat. Anbumani was the categorically chosen heir to the PMK. The father and founder was the one who groomed his son to be the heir, but the party's fortunes have been sagging over the last 15 years. Once a brute ally, the PMK had jumped between the AIADMK and DMK during the late 1990s to 2009 as it had a strong, transferable OBC Vanniyar caste vote base. However, post-2009, both PMK and DMK have been on the losing side and have since been an NDA ally in the state. It may still have a residual caste vote, but it's far from its powerful history. Will the father and son battle completely eliminate a struggling political force in the state? It is threatening to and just ahead of the 2026 assembly elections, the party finds itself in a difficult position. Whether it is the BRS or the PMK, succession battles and power struggles are part of the game in political parties. But when it's a family-run party, the battle gets intensely personal with multiple intrigues, layers and dimensions involved. The DMK and Chief Minister MK Stalin in Tamil Nadu had to fight their battles in a large family. Though he has been the categorical leader in the last decade, there was a challenge from his older brother MK Azhagiri in the mid 2000s that he had decisively dealt with. Even today, there are murmurs of friction in the family over the choice of Stalin's son Udayanidhi as the heir apparent. His sister and DMK Parliamentary party leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi is a strong force in the party, and how the dynamics will play out in the future will be closely watched. Ultimately, family and dynasty politics are an uncomfortable political reality in India; in some cases, it has led to the decimation of strong political forces. But there always seems to be a family story at play in the political soap opera.
News18
20-05-2025
- Politics
- News18
DMK Worker's Wife Accuses Him Of Torture, 'Grooming' Girls For Politicians; AIADMK Flags FIR Delay
Last Updated: The ruling DMK said that the police will take action against those found responsible, and the party will decide on internal measures based on the outcome of the investigation. A young woman stoked a massive political row in Tamil Nadu after accusing her husband, a DMK functionary from Arakkonam in Ranipet district, of torture and sexual harassment. She further alleged that her husband 'groomed" and coerced other 20-year-old girls into 'sleeping with politicians," and claimed that his abuse drove her to attempt suicide. 'He assaulted me on the way to college… injured me and broke my phone. And he would say, 'if you complain nothing will happen as the police will support me'. Because of him I tried to take poison," she said in a statement that was highlighted by the main opposition party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). The woman, a 20-year-old college student from Arakkonam district, also alleged that her husband, identified as Deivaseyal—who claimed to be the Deputy Secretary of the DMK's youth wing—threatened to set her family members on fire if she ever approached the police. 'His job is to torture 20-year-old girls to sleep with politicians… no action is ever taken against him. When I complain he threatens to cut me into pieces. He tortured me in the car and told me to sleep with the men he pointed to… I can't even leave my home. I couldn't take my exams," the woman said. AIADMK Flags FIR Delay The allegations led the AIADMK to accuse the DMK of protecting the accused, Deivaseyal, alleging that the police initially delayed filing an FIR because of his connections with senior leaders of the ruling party. The police have now filed the case, with the woman also claiming links between her husband and the Tamil Nadu School Education Minister, Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, in the complaint. 'In this case, the police under the Stalin-model government delayed filing the FIR, which was only registered after the student complained to the Arakkonam constituency MLA, Mr. S. Ravi of the AIADMK," Palaniswami said in an X post. சேலம் சூரமங்கலம் அருகே உள்ள நரசோதிப்பட்டி பகுதியைச் சேர்ந்த மாணவர் கௌதம், நீட் தேர்வு அச்சத்தால் தன் இன்னுயிரை மாய்த்துக்கொண்டதாக வரும் செய்தி அதிர்ச்சியளிக்கிறது.ஸ்டாலின் மாடல் திமுக ஆட்சி பொறுப்பேற்றதில் இருந்து 24-வது மாணவர் நீட் தேர்வால் உயிரிழப்பு! ஒரு பொய்யின் விளைவு… — Edappadi K Palaniswami-SayYEStoWomenSafety&AIADMK (@EPSTamilNadu) May 20, 2025 Mounting the attack against the DMK, Palaniswami compared the current case to the horrific 2019 Pollachi sex abuse scandal, where a gang of nine men assaulted multiple women between 2016 and 2018, recording the attacks and using the footage to extort money. 'For (DMK boss and Chief Minister MK) Stalin, who often cites Pollachi… Arakkonam is a sample of your chaotic rule. I transferred the Pollachi case to the CBI, but Stalin did everything to dilute this. Will this 'dummy dad' government act against the DMK functionary?" he wrote in Tamil. 'I not, the AIADMK will lead massive protests," Palaniswami warned. Meanwhile, the ruling DMK stated that the police will take action against those found responsible, and the party will decide on internal measures based on the outcome of the investigation. First Published: May 20, 2025, 14:40 IST
The Hindu
14-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Restored faith: On the Pollachi verdict
Justice, if not unduly delayed, restores public faith in due process and the criminal justice system. The recent verdict in the Pollachi sexual assault case, where a Coimbatore Mahila Court convicted all nine accused and sentenced them to life imprisonment for the remainder of their natural lives, is a significant step in this regard. More so, because the entire case originated from a single plea for help from a young victim, which helped expose the involvement of multiple tentacles of a body of criminals. In February 2019, a 19-year-old college student reported to the Pollachi East police that four men had sexually assaulted her in a car near Pollachi 12 days earlier. The ensuing investigation revealed this complaint to be just the tip of the iceberg. As in the Prajwal Revanna case in Karnataka, the seizure of digital devices unveiled the full scope of the atrocities. Since 2016, a group of young men had been systematically preying on vulnerable young women, from disadvantaged groups, filming the assaults, and using these videos for further exploitation. The sheer depravity uncovered shocked the State's collective conscience. Public outrage intensified with the exposure of the accused's political connections. One was identified as the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) Pollachi town students' wing secretary (later expelled), while another, involved in an assault on the survivor's brother, held a local secretary position in Amma Peravai, an AIADMK-affiliated youth organisation. Faced with mounting public pressure, the State government initially transferred the investigation to the Crime Branch-CID and subsequently to the Central Bureau of Investigation. Mahila Court Judge R. Nandhini Devi also directed the State government to provide a total compensation of ₹85 lakh to the survivors. The judge concurred with the prosecution's argument that the perpetrators had exploited their financial resources, physical power, political influence, and the incriminating videos to silence the survivors and perpetrate repeated assaults. She emphasised that she was clear that the judgment should 'reflect the public abhorrence of the crime'. As elections approach, politicians must resist the temptation to politicise this judgment, which not only delivered satisfactory justice but also challenged the misuse of political and financial clout. To foster a genuine feeling of security, the government must now assure its citizens an environment free from exploitation.
The Hindu
11-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
AMMK will forget its differences with AIADMK to put up a united fight to defeat DMK: Dhinakaran
Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam will forget its differences with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and put up a united fight to defeat the 'evil force,' Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam ,in the forthcoming Assembly election, said its founder T.T.V. Dhinakaran in Sattur on Sunday. Interacting with journalists, Mr. Dhinakaran said all political parties in the country spoke in a single voice in support of the Indian defence forces that fought against Pakistan. 'That was to ensure that India wins the war. Similarly, in the democratic war of election, all political parties would join hands sinking the differences between them with the single objective of defeating the DMK,' Mr. Dhinakaran said. To a question on opposition parties criticising the role of US in brokering peace between India and Pakistan, the former MP said it was a usual happening around the world for international leaders to bring peace among warring nations. 'Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had tried to bring peace between Russia and Ukraine. US President Donald Trump could have tried to prevent the sufferings of people of India and Pakistan during war,' he added. Mr. Dhinakaran was highly critical about the DMK claiming that its governance had taken Tamil Nadu to the numero uno position. According to him, Tamil Nadu was the 'first among the States' where the (DMK) government had not fulfilled its poll promises; in terms of deterioration of law and order, and in increasing murders by mercenaries.
