Actress Kangana Ranaut will play late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in the upcoming biopic ‘Thalaivi’.
The announcement was made on Ranaut’s birthday on Saturday.
‘Thalaivi’ will be directed by Vijay and produced by Vishnu Induri.
“When producer Vishnu Induri approached me with an offer to direct this biopic, I felt a sense of responsibility more than excitement,” Vijay said. “This was a story of an achiever; a story of one woman who fought for her place in a male-dominated world. It was meant to be told with honesty. The stature of this tall leader and her courage inspired me to say yes as soon as I was offered this opportunity.”
‘Baahubali’ and ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ screenwriter Vijayendra Prasad has been brought on board.
“It took us around nine months of research and over 20 drafts to finally lock the script. We are delighted to have Vijayendra Prasad sir helping us through the process of writing. His contribution will be of great value. This will be a very honest biopic of our beloved leader,” Vijay said.
Interestingly, another Jayalalithaa biopic titled ‘The Iron Lady’ is currently in the offing. This project is gearing up for a 2020 release.
Nithya Menen plays Jayalalithaa in ‘The Iron Lady’, being directed by A Priyadarshini. The film will be released in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi.
Vijay said ‘Thalaivi’ will be the official biopic on the life of Jayalalithaa and revealed that they have taken permission from the late leader’s nephew Deepak.
“I thank Deepak sir for granting us the official status. We are in the process of finalising the rest of cast and crew. We start shooting from April,” he added.
