India's Richest Actress, with 10,000 sarees and 28 kg of gold, Inspired 9 biopics

Juhi Chawla has been designated as the richest actress in India with a whopping net worth of ₹4600crore as per the Hurun India Rich List. She beats every other female actor in the country rather effortlessly since none of them have even hit the ₹1000 crore ceiling. However, nearly 30 years back, there was a star who, when placed in today’s context, was even richer still. She had far more than simple riches including enough clothing and jewels to befit even a queen.

India’s richest actress ever

Jayalalithaa was undoubtedly one of the most iconic actresses of her time. In a film career that lasted over twenty years, she emerged the foremost actress of both the Tamil and Telugu film industries and also worked in a donkey’s share of Bollywood films. But she became wealthy not because of her film industry but after she became a politician. During the 1980s, she followed in the footsteps of her mentor M. G. Ramachandran and joined his political party AIADMK. After her first stint in the Rajya Sabha, she came back to state politics and served as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for five consecutive terms.

Nevertheless, some of her policies were the subject of corruption charges scandals, and numerous allegations asserted that her wealth far exceeded her assets. In 1997, Indian governmental agencies estimated Jayalalitha’s fortune at around ₹900 crores after a raid of her house on Poes Garden in Chennai, which was a staggering difference from the sources of income she disclosed which was under ₹188 crores. Inflation-adjusted, this amount shall over 20 years become a sum of nearly ₹5000 crores today, which is more than even that of the colossal Juhi Chawla. The raid partially revealed Jayalalitha’s astonishing possessions that included 10,500 different sarees, 750 different footwears, 800 kgs of silver and 28 kgs of gold. In another even investigation carried out in 2016, her holdings intensified showing a 1250 kgs increase in the silver and 21 kgs in the gold.

Jayalalithaa’s life on the screen 

Jayalalithaa was known to be one of the biggest film stars of her time. However, she was at the peak of her career in India, when in her mid-thirties she quit films for good. Henceforth, any appearance she made on screen was merely that – a figure, recreating her persona with or without some resemblance to her. Over at least a dozen films including hers, she was the center character but some were political and cuts in her biography forced some actors to pull out. Nonetheless, a few biopics were completed over several years. Mani Ratnam's film, ‘Iruvar’ was the earliest one to cover her story, and actress Aishwarya Ray played the part of the Chief Minister's spouse. In the year 2021, a web series called ‘Queen’ featured Ramya Krishnan in the role of Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister who was inspired by Jayalalitha. Her life however, was not the subject of the first official biographical film on the life of this actor turned politician which interestingly however, was titled Ilaiyathalapathy, with the character played by Kangana Ranaut .

Besides these, several other biographies of Jayalalithaa were planned but never came to fruition. This included ‘Amma’ which was supposed to star Ragini Dwivedi, another ‘Amma’ which had Anushka Shetty in the lead, ‘Thaai: Puratchi Thalaivi’ which starred Aishwarya Rai, and one other untitled project by AL Vijay starring Vidya Balan. In 2019, a movie named ‘Sasilatha’ which centered upon the dynamics of the relationship between Jayalalithaa and Sasikala, a close aide was announced with Kajol and Amala Paul as leads. The last attempt at making a biopic on Jayalalithaa was in 2021 and Nithya Menen was the leading cast for ‘The Iron Lady’. Nevertheless, this motion picture as well did not get released.