The shoot of the upcoming Jayalalithaa biopic Thalaivi, starring Kangana Ranaut in the lead, was wrapped up recently. The film also stars Arvind Swami in the role of MG Ramachandran, who played an important role in the political career of Jayalalithaa. On Thursday, the actor took to Twitter to share his look and wrote, “It was not just an honour to play the role of Puratchi Thalaivar MGR, but a great responsibility. I thank director A L Vijay & producers @vishinduri @shaaileshrsingh for having faith in me. I humbly post these pics in Thalaivar’s memory, today. #Thalaivi #MGR #ArvindSwamiasMGR.”
In the stills, Arvind looks uncannily like MGR in his younger days. The award-winning makeup artist Pattanam Rasheed was the man behind Arvind's look. Earlier, talking about Arvind's role in an interview with Times of India, the film's director A L Vijay said, “Arvind is a perfectionist and he doesn’t stop until he gets everything perfectly right. He watched lots of old films and footage of MGR and attended several workshops to get the body language and mannerisms right. He even visited a dentist to make sure his teeth look similar to MGR’s. But we were clear that we didn’t want him to look like a clone of MGR. Arvind worked closely with our make-up man Pattanam Rasheed. He tried eight looks before finally cracking the look we were all satisfied with.”
It was not just an honour to play the role of Puratchi Thalaivar MGR, but a great responsibility. I thank director A.L. Vijay & producers @vishinduri @shaaileshrsingh for having faith in me. I humbly post these pics in Thalaivar’s memory, today.#Thalaivi #MGR #ArvindSwamiasMGR pic.twitter.com/F4KY07Q4Dt
— arvind swami (@thearvindswami) December 24, 2020
Thalaivi has been on the floors since the Madras High Court rejected the civil suit of J Deepa, Jayalalithaa’s niece, who had objected to the filmmakers making a film on her aunt. It’s worth mentioning that when Kangana Ranaut was announced for the titular role, the choice was received with some backlash. Soon after the announcement, Vijay clarified his stand on roping in Kangana and why she will justify the character.
Thalaivi also stars Madhoo in the role of Jayalalithaa’s confidante Sasikala. There are already reports doing the rounds that Poorna, Jagapathi Babu, Jayasudha and Sathyaraj will be playing crucial roles, while the makers are yet to announce the rest of the cast and crew. The film is written by KV Vijayendra Prasad, who has also penned Baahubali and Manikarnika, and will be produced by Vishnu Vardhan Induri & Shaailesh R Singh under the banners of Vibri & Karma Media and Entertainment. Hollywood makeup artist Jason Collins, who has worked in films such as Captain Marvel, Hunger Games and Blade Runner is in charge of prosthetic makeup. GV Prakash has been roped in to compose music and Nirav Shah will work the camera. The film will be available in three languages—Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.