When Jayalalithaa spoke out against an AIR ban on Ilaiyaraaja’s Oram Po Song and Khomeini

In 1979, former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, then known only as an actor, launched a scathing critique of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini for his decision to ban all music from the country’s radio and television. Her critique began with a local issue: the decision of All India Radio (AIR) to ban the song Oram Po, Oram Po Rukumani Vandi Varuthu from the 1979 Tamil film Ponnu Oorukku Pudusu. The song, composed by maestro Ilaiyaraaja, had lyrics written by his brother Gangai Amaran, who is also a music director. “There is no Tamil newspaper that has not condemned AIR’s decision to ban Ilaiyaraaja’s song Oram Po,” she wrote. “But, in Iran, its leader Khomeini has said Oram Po to music,” a pun implying “say ‘no’ to music”.

The article appeared in the September 15, 1979 edition of Thuglak, a Tamil magazine, then edited by political satirist and actor Cho Ramaswamy. “As she was a voracious reader, Cho encouraged her to write for the magazine. He personally collected the first manuscript from her and gave it to me. We published two articles without her name. Her identity as the author was revealed only in the third article,” recalled Mathalai, the assistant editor of Thuglak. All her writings in Thuglak were later compiled into a book titled Thuglakil Jayalalithaa, published by Alliance Publications.

‘It’s not justice’

“Music is an important aspect of the culture of any country. Just as we have our Carnatic and Hindustani traditions and the West has classical music, even a minor backward community can take pride in its folk songs,” she wrote. She argued, “Subduing crores of people to the whims and fancies of an individual cannot be considered justice.” It was a period when she was not politically active and was not part of the AIADMK. She was once the favourite heroine of M.G. Ramachandran, the AIADMK founder and former Chief Minister. Later, actors such as Manjula, Radha Saluja, and Latha replaced her as the leading lady in his films.

Gangai Amaran was extremely pleased with Jayalalithaa’s defence of music. He recalled that AIR had banned not only Oram Po but also Thennamarathula Thendral Adikuthu Nandhavana Kiliye from the film Lakshmi, starring Jaiganesh and Sridevi. “I gave an interview to the media, raising my objections. I also went to AIR’s Chennai office to meet its then director, M.S. Gopal,” said Gangai Amaran. “I asked him for the reason for the ban. He said a committee had made the decision. I pointed out that the lines Paalirukkum Kinnam from the song Chitirame Solladi in the film Vennira Aadai to illustrate that there were far more erotic lyrics being broadcast,” said Gangai Amaran. Incidentally, he was an A-Grade artist of the AIR under music director T.R. Papa. He was not on the payroll of the AIR when the controversy erupted. He quit the AIR after opportunities opened up in the film world.

Advice from Kannadasan

Lyricist Kannadasan asked Gangai Amaran not to make an issue out of it. “He told me that the song was already echoing in every nook and corner of Tamil Nadu,” Gangai Amaran recalled. Both Ilaiyaraaja and Gangai Amaran had an opportunity to work with Jayalalithaa in the film Nathiyai Thedi Vandha Kadal, and Gangai Amaran wrote the famous number Thavikkuthu Thayankuthu Orumanathu for the film. Jayalalithaa  appeared with Sarath Babu, the hero of the film, for the song. “She was very friendly and told us that she liked our songs. We discussed film songs and I requested her to render a song when we performed on stage. But she politely rejected the offer, saying it had been many years since she rendered a song,” said Gangai Amaran.

Jayalalithaa, who later emerged as the unquestionable leader of the AIADMK, had boldly aired her views on many subjects, including euthanasia for terminally ill patients, total prohibition (though, as the Chief Minister, she was instrumental in the take-over of retail liquor vending through Tasmac), the death of a woman who threw herself on the funeral pyre of her husband, and the advantage of working women over women depending on their husbands. In the article Maranathirku Mun Pala Maranangal Theyvaithana (Should death be preceded by more deaths?), she advocated mercy killing or euthanasia. She cited cases known to her and in the U.S. in favour of her argument. “Is it not fair to deliver them from the hell when these patients cannot be given a chance to live like normal human beings,” she asked.

Sectarian tussle

It is surprising that Jayalalithaa, who had never made a secret of her caste and religious identity, ridiculed the fight between the Vadakalai and Thenkalai sects of Vaishnavites and their tussle over identifying the elephant of the Varadharaja Perumal Temple in Kancheepuram. The dispute was pending before the Supreme Court when she penned the article Appa Vadkalai, Amma Thenkalai. In it, she imagined a conversation among the two elephants — one representing Vadakalai and the other Thenkalai — and the calf born to them. “It has become a new problem for the temple authorities: the father elephant belongs to Vadakalai and the mother to Thenkalai. What will be the sect of the calf?” she wrote. Jayalalithaa said she was keen on knowing the court order because she was equally confused. “My mother belongs to Thenkalai. It is a matter of fact. If I want to adorn a namam [the religious mark], what should be my choice?” she quipped.