Chennai
Excerpts from the interview:
When did you first meet J Jayalalithaa?
I met Jayalalithaa in 1981 during the World Tamil Conference event. The entire event was videographed, and I was coordinating for it. At that time, more than 200 colour televisions were used to telecast the programme from Chennai. I was handling the coordination teams and the technical aspects of the live telecast. During that time, Jayalalithaa used to interact with me and enquire about the video telecast technology.
How did the friendship grow between Jayalalithaa and you?
When Jayalalithaa addressed a public meeting in Kanniyakumari, the organisers wanted to add background music to the video of the event. The video cassette was handed over to me for that. The event turned out to be a political controversy and the video cassette of the event was very much in demand. At that time, the DMK members contacted me over the phone and offered a huge sum of money for the video. But I said I have already handed over the cassette to the organisers. After this event, Jayalalithaa wanted to meet me and it developed into a friendly relationship. Then I assisted her with addressing the letters that she had received from AIADMK cadres and her fans.
Did AIADMK founder MG Ramachandran acknowledge your friendship with Jayalalithaa?
MGR came to know about my friendship with Jayalalithaa and he insisted that I meet him at his residence in Mambalam. During our interaction, he asked me to take care of Jayalalithaa.
What happened on December 25, 1987, after MGR’s demise?
Jayalalithaa was upset after the then AIADMK ministers refused her to join MGR’s funeral procession. I was there to help her emotionally. Since then, I started frequenting her Poes Garden residence, and later started living there.
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