Amitabh Bachchan, Dhanush, Rajinikanth mourn Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa's demise 

Tributes poured in on Twitter after the news of Tamil Nadu chief minister, J Jayalalithaa, broke. The chief minister, and former star of the Tamil film industry passed away after a 75-day long battle with illness at the Apollo hospital in Chennai. She was 68. 

Jayalalithaa Jayaram (1948–2016): End of an aura

The late chief minister was one of the most iconic and popular female leads of her time before switching careers, very successfully, to politics. Understandably, the demise brought condolences, and statements of sorrow from both sides of the film industry. 

When Jayalalithaa had a crush on Shammi Kapoor, flirted on screen with Dharmendra

Tamil superstar Rajinikanth was quick to tweet his sorrow on his social media platform. Calling her 'a brave daughter of Tamil Nadu', he wrote : 'Not just Tamil Nadu but the whole of India lost a brave daughter. May her soul rest in peace.' 

Amitabh Bachchan too, tweeted his condolences immediately after the news. 

Dhanush, whose recent political drama, Kodi, was built around the theme of Tamil politics wrote: 

Dhanush's wife, Aishwaryaa Dhanush expressed her sympathies as well. 

Rang De Basanti star, R Madhavan, expressed his sorrow as well. 

Sidharth, the other Rang De Basanti actor, wrote his condolences as well. 

The expressions of grief did not just emerge from the Tamil film industry. Shah Rukh Khan took to Twitter to express his feelings on the chief minister's demise. He wrote:

Anupam Kher praised Jayalalithaa as a 'charismatic leader of the masses as he condoled her demise. 

A female icon, it was natural that many of the current generation of actresses felt Jayalalithaa's loss deeply. Trisha Krishnan, whose recent performance as a female politician in Kodi (2016) earned her comparisons to the chief minister, wrote on her social media platform:

The actress belonged to the same alma mater, Church Park school, as Jayalalithaa. She even posted an old memory of her receiving an award from the chief minister. 

Shruti Haasan was another actress who took to Twitter to express her feelings about the demise. 

Actress Gautami called the former chief minister a 'great lady', and praised her compassion and vision.