Karunanidhi: How a film screenwriter became the five-time chief minister of Tamil Nadu; here is all about his journey

At the age of 94, DMK chief M Karunanidhi took his last breath on Tuesday (7 August) at Kauvery Hospital. He was admitted to the hospital on July 28 and was under the treatment due to a dip in his blood pressure.

The DMK patriarch was the 3rd Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He was first elected as the Chief Minister in 1969 and in 2006 he was elected as the chief minister fifth time.

When he entered politics, he was only 14-year-old. He took the inspiration from a speech made by Alagiriswamii of the Justice Party. He took part in Anti-Hindi agitation and laid the foundation of an organization for the local youth his locality.

Down the line, he also founded a student organization named as Tamil Nadu Nanavar Mandram.

The Tamil stalwart Karunanidhi was 33 when he became the member of the Tamil Nadu assembly after having won the Kulithalai seat in the 1957 election.

He became the Chief Minister after Annadurai passed away in 1969. But in his political journey, he suffered multiple electoral defeats at the hand of his rival AIADMK’s M G Ramachandran until the latter was alive.

Karuna Nidhi was famous for his writing works in the Tamil film industry too. He was given the title of Kalaignar by M.R.Radha.

In fact, Karunanidhi started off his career as a screenwriter in the Tamil film industry and turned famous for the Modern Theatres Studio in Salem.

When he went to work for Jupiter Pictures, he was 20. His first film, Rajakumaari, earned him popularity and his skill for scriptwriting was honed there.

Karunanidhi’s original name was Dakshinamurthy. He was born in Thirukkuvalai village in Nagapattinam district.

During his student time, he was very much interested in drama, poetry and literature. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by Annamalai University in 1971.

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