Jayalalithaa Jayaram, two-time Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and AIADMK party supremo, is a difficult person to sum up.
Over the years many of her enemies and political opponents have been badly burnt because they underestimated her. Her supporters, on the other hand, have often been widely criticised for their overzealous and fanatical devotion to her.
But her potential is undeniable and her time is far from over.
For the 2011 polls she has once again created a strong and powerful alliance and has swept the field with a massive mandate. Amma is back.
But her path to this pinnacle of regional politics has been long and sometimes reads like the film scripts she was once famous for.
Image: All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader J. Jayalalithaa gestures to her party supporters while standing on the balcony of her residence in Chennai on May 13, 2011, as the results of state assembly elections became known.
Text: Vinayak Hegde
Images: AFP/ Wikipedia Commons
