MG Ramachandran a.k.a MGR was a real life show man. Of course, there is the small matter of him being a matinee idol of unmatched proportions. On 24th December 1987, fate drew curtains on his illustrious life. After years of struggle, the evergreen hero lost his only battle to fate. For once, he couldn't deliver the deeds like he has done all his life as a screen star and politician. During his last rite, more than a million people joined his last procession and 40 other fanatics killed themselves. Hundreds and hundreds of others shaved their heads as a show of grief. The man was a phenomenon.
MGR's life was not a spotless one and he never claimed it to be one. He had his fair share of detractors and adversaries. But like all his movies, the fight was mostly one sided and the star came out trumps all the time. When people credit his successes as a politician to his status as a matinee idol, nothing can be more insulting. Though he became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in only his first election after floating his political party, he was a hard core member of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagan for years before that. His work as a party member and astute choice of roles in films fast tracked his race to Fort St. George.
Even 22 years after his death, he has a faithful fan base. Some of his movies of 1950s and 1960s still pull crowds by hundreds. Take a bow to Tamil nadu's own Don Corleone.
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