Was ‘Komalavalli’ Jaya’s real name? politicians, experts debate facts

One of the two bones of contention that the AIADMK has against the filmmakers is that it contains scenes that allegedly belittle the welfare schemes introduced by Jayalalithaa and her predecessors. The other is the fact that its female antagonist, played by actor Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, is named Komalavalli, which was Jayalalithaa’s original name.

In fact, many state ministers criticised the filmmakers for insulting Jayalalithaa by naming a villain after her. 

It was Congress leader, EVKS Elangovan, who had on many occasions initially addressed Jayalalithaa as Komalavalli. Later, a section of the media too started referring to her as Komalavalli. 

But, the deputy general secretary of AMMK, TTV Dhinakaran, provided a twist in the tale by saying that Jayalalithaa never went by the name “Komalavalli”. “After Elangovan referred to Jayalalithaa as Komalavalli, I asked her whether it was her real name, but she said that neither is the name “Komalavalli” related to her nor did she play any movie character with that name,” said Dhinakaran. He also criticised ministers for addressing the media without knowing the facts. Author Vaasanthi, who wrote Jayalalithaa’s biography, however, assured that Komalavalli was Jayalalithaa’s real name. 

“When I was writing the biography, I was informed by renowned film critic, Randor Guy, and many others that Jayalalithaa was initially known as Komalavalli. But, she was not comfortable with the name and even went to the extent of suing me for referring to her as Komalavalli,” Vaasanthi said.  

The biography titled ‘Jayalalithaa — A  Portrait’ was banned after Jayalalithaa filed a petition against it. It’s only recently that a stay on the book’s release was vacated, said Vaasanthi. 

MDMK leader Vaiko on Thursday said that there is nothing wrong in making films that focus on socially relevant subjects. He added that freedom of expression in films shouldn’t be curtailed through protests. His statement came after a group of AIADMK workers sent a petition to the police commissioner and the collector on Thursday demanding to stop screening the film Sarkar. The functionaries then gathered in front of a theatre near the railway station and tore the film’s banners and raised slogans against the movie. Another group of party men staged a similar protest in front of Central theatre in north Coimbatore. They were then removed by police. 

Scores of AIADMK cadre, led by VV Rajan Chellappa, the MLA representing Madurai North constituency, descended before a cinema theatre in Anna Nagar here, where the Vijay-starrer Sarkar is being screened, to lodge strong protests against the director and producer of the film, on Thursday. Speaking to the reporters during the protest, Chellappa said there were scenes that were critical of late chief minister and AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa. Referring to these scenes, Chellappa urged the filmmakers to remove all such scenes from Sarkar immediately. If they failed do so despite the protests, the theatres showing the film would have to face risk, he added.

Actual worldwide collection from box office on Day 1 Rs 55 crore

Speculated collection: 70 crore

Overall collection: 93 crore

Speculated overall collection: 110 crore