I am joining DMK, says Khushboo

Chennai, May 14 (IANS) Popular southern actress Khushboo said Friday that she is all set to join Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK party.

'I had long been willing to involve myself in full-time politics,' Khushboo told IANS here, and added that she would meet DMK chief and Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi later Friday.

'I will be meeting 'Kalaignar' and will be joining the DMK in his presence,' the Chennai-based actor said, addressing the chief minister the way his admirers do.

'I have always had the greatest of regards for Kalaignar's leadership qualities. I am extremely happy to be aligning with the DMK,' she adde

Khushboo, 40, was last month acquitted by the Supreme Court in all 22 cases pending against her in courts across Tamil Nadu for endorsing pre-marital and live-in relationships.

She started her career in the 1980s as a child artist with 'Thodisi Bewafaii' and next year she did 'Laawaris'.

She was introduced to southern film industry by K. Raghavendra Rao's Telugu movie 'Kaliyuga Pandavulu'. She worked in all four southern movie industry but was more active in Tamil films.

Some of her films are 'Ranadheera', 'Anjada Gandu', 'Shanthi Kranthi' and 'Yugapurusha'. After ruling the Tamil film industry in the 1990s, she tied the knot with director Sundar C who later became an actor.

Long after she fell out of favour with producers due to her age, she remained in touch with her fans, who built a temple for her here, through her hugely popular show 'Jackpot' on Jaya TV.

The show has been running for more than eight years.