Juhi Chawla was recently crowned India’s richest actress. The actor-turned-businesswoman reportedly has a staggering net worth of ₹4600 crore, according to the Hurun India Rich List. She dwarfs every other female actor from India, none of whom have even reached the ₹1000 crore mark. Yet, nearly three decades ago, there was a star who was even richer, provided one takes inflation into account. But her riches were far beyond just cash, for she had a wardrobe and jewellery that could put royals to shame.
India’s richest actress ever
Jayalalithaa, the Tamil film icon, was one of the most successful stars of her time. In a film career that spanned two decades, Jayalalithaa was the top female star in both Tamil and Telugu film industries and even worked in some Bollywood hits. Yet the riches she would amass came not from films but after she joined politics. In the 1980s, Jayalalithaa followed her mentor MG Ramachandran and joined his party, AIADMK. After serving a term as a Rajya Sabha MP, she moved back to state politics, serving five terms as the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister.
However, Jayalalithaa faced charges of corruption too, with many allegations of her amassing wealth beyond her means. In 1997, after a raid at her Poes Garden residence in Chennai, the authorities alleged that she had amassed a net worth of ₹900 crore against her own declaration of ₹188 crore. If adjusted for inflation, the figure is almost ₹5000 crore today, even higher than Juhi Chawla’s immense wealth. The raid revealed some of Jayalalithaa’s incredible riches, including 10,500 sarees in her possession, along with 750 pairs of footwear, 800 kg silver, and 28 kg gold. In 2016, another investigation into her wealth put her precious metal holdings at 1250 kg silver and 21 kg gold.
Jayalalithaa’s life on the screen
Jayalalithaa was a top star of her time, but she quit films at her peak when she was just in her mid-30s. After that, she was only seen on screen as a character, either in her name or inspired by her. At least seven biopics featuring her were announced, with some never even released due to political opposition. But a few did manage to hit the screens over the years. Mani Ratnam’s Iruvar was the first time her story was shown on screen with Aishwarya Rai, on debut, playing a character inspired by the then CM. In 2021, Ramya Krishnan played a TN CM modelled on Jayalalithaa in the web series Queen. But the first official biopic of the actor-turned-politician was Thalaivii, starring Kangana Ranaut.
Apart from these, there were several other shelved biopics of Jayalalitha, including Amma starring Ragini Dwivedi, another Amma starring Anushka Shetty, Thaai: Puratchi Thalaivi featuring Aishwarya Rai, and AL Vijay’s untitled film with Vidya Balan attached to it. In 2019, Sasilatha, a film exploring the relationship of Jayalalithaa and her aide Sasikala was announced with Kajol and Amala Paul in the lead roles. The last time a biopic of Jayalalithaa was attempted was in 2021, when Nithya Menen was cast in The Iron Lady. But this film also never saw the light of the day.
