Filmmaker AL Vijay is currently busy helming the biopic on the life of actor-politician J Jayalalithaa titled Thalaivi starring Kangana Ranaut in the titular role. The shooting of the film which was happening in Hyderabad was put on hold when the COVID-19 pandemic hit India. Now, after a gap of seven months, the makers are resuming shooting for the film.
Confirming the same, Kangana wrote, “Dear friends today is a very special day, resuming work after 7 months, travelling to southern India for my most ambitious bilingual project THALAIVI, need your blessings in these testing times of a pandemic.”
Dear friends today is a very special day, resuming work after 7 months, travelling to southern India for my most ambitious bilingual project THALAIVI, need your blessings in these testing times of a pandemic.
— Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) October 1, 2020
P.S just clicked these morning selfies hope you all like them pic.twitter.com/drptQUzvXK
Earlier this year, on the eve of Jayalalithaa's birth anniversary, the makers released the second look of Kangana Ranaut as the late Chief Minister. While Kangana's first look as Jayalalithaa featured her with thick prosthetic makeup on her face, the look received mixed opinions with some saying the actor looked like a caricature of the former Chief Minister.
The actor then shared pictures of her training herself in classical Indian dance form of Bharatnatyam. This film marks Kangana's return to Tamil cinema after a gap of 12 years. She had debued in Dhaam Dhoom in 2008 with Jayam Ravi.
The Queen actor revealed that she did a lot of research to perfect the portrayal of Jayalalithaa in the forthcoming biopic. "I’ve researched a lot [to play Jayalalithaa]. She (Jayalalithaa) was a different kind of actor. She was not like me. She was a more glamorous star... somebody like an Aishwarya Rai in Bollywood. It was a very big challenge to fit into those shoes because I’m not known as a glamorous star," she had said in an interview.
The biopic also stars Poorna aka Shamna Kasim and veteran actor Madhoo. While Poorna will play the controversial role of Sasikala in the film, Madhoo will be essaying Janaki Ramachandran’s role. It may be noted that initially there were reports that Priyamani might be playing the role of Sasikala. Arvind Swami has been roped in to play the role of former Tamil Nadu CM and legendary star MGR, who played an important role in the political and acting career of Jayalalithaa.
To coincide with MGR's birth anniversary, earlier this year, Arvind Swami shared his look from the film following which a teaser, featuring MGR's song "Naan Ungal Veetu Pillai" from the 1968 Tamil film Pudhiya Boomi, was unveiled. The award-winning makeup artist Pattanam Rasheed was the man behind Arvind's look.
There are already reports doing the rounds that actors such as Jagapathi Babu, Jayasudha and Sathyaraj will be playing crucial roles, while the makers are yet to announce the rest of the cast and crew. To be shot and released in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi, the biopic is bankrolled by Vishnu Vardhan Induri and Shaailesh R Singh under the banners of Vibri and Karma Media and Entertainment.
Hollywood makeup artist Jason Collins who has worked in Captain Marvel, Hunger Games and Blade Runner is in charge of the prosthetic makeup. GV Prakash has been roped in to compose music, Nirav Shah will crank the camera and the film has been written by KV Vijayendra Prasad, who has also penned Baahubali series and Manikarnika.
(Content provided by Digital Native)