Mirroring Dayanidhi Maran's rise is another son from Tamil Nadu, Anbumani Ramadoss.
While Maran's early days were non-controversial and he earned a lot of praise from industry, Anbumani's political career has been riddled with controversy from the word go.
A Rajya Sabha MP, Dr Ramadoss landed the health ministry thanks either to his father Dr S Ramadoss's clout at the Centre.
Be it the ban on onscreen smoking or the face-off with All India Institute of Medical Sciences Director Dr R Venugopal , or his recent startling revelation that four chief ministers and many MPs approached him asking him not to enforce graphic warnings on cigarette packets, Dr A Ramadoss is never far from the headlines.
And 2007 may well be the year where he wins his war with Dr Venugopal, who wants to stay AIIMS director, almost like those Soviet-style rulers, for life.
Last week, Parliament passed a bill fixing a retirement age for directors of institutions like AIIMS at 65. Not one to go without a fight, Dr Venugopal has filed a petition against the decision.
Photograph: Irshad Khan/AFP/Getty Images
Also read: 'Health is not purely matter of facilities'
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