Marudur Gopalan Ramachandran or MGR-founder of the AIADMK founder and three-time chief minister, Bharat Ratna recipient-dominated Tamil Nadu'sstratosphere for four decades. In this richly detailed biography of the man often called vathiyar or teacher, R. Kannan traces MGR's life from his early poverty-ridden years-a Class Threedropout-to his rise as a matinee idol, before becoming a politician of repute. Heexamines MGR's lifelong association with mentor Annadurai and other Dravidiancultural icons and his tumultuous political friendship with Kalaignar Karunanidhiand Jayalalithaa, his cine heroine and political protégé.
 
The book dissects MGR's years in power: His early administration, thelegendary midday meal scheme launched in 1982 that fed 92 lakhschoolchildren, his well-intentioned farm subsidies and freebies that strained theexchequer, his largesse to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, as well as hisunabashed sponsorship of liquor barons and private medical and engineeringcolleges that aided the transformation of the state, but also fuelled corruption.
 
Honest and insightful, MGR provides a portrait of a warm larger-than-life figure, whose legacy has left an indelible stamp on Dravidian politics.