Thalaivi Latest Update: Arvind Swami to play MGR in Kangana Ranaut's Jayalalithaa biopic
Arvind Swami, who was last seen in Mani Ratnam’s Chekka Chivantha Vaanam, will essay the role of former Tamil Nadu chief minister and legendary actor MGR in Jayalalithaa biopic Thalaivi, starring Kangana Ranaut.
MGR played an important role in the life and career of Jayalalithaa.
Apparently, it was after great contemplation the makers zeroed in on Arvind Swami.
“MGR and Jayalalithaa starred in 28 box-office hits between 1965 and 1973. While the makers needed a worthy actor to do justice to his role, another criterion was that the artiste be fluent in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. Arvind satisfied both criteria. The unit will kick off Thalaivi's shoot with Kangana from the first week of November in Mysore, and Arvind will join her on November 15," a source who is privy to the developments of the biopic was quoted, as saying.
Thalaivi will be released in three languages – Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. Earlier, it was supposed to be released in Hindi as Jaya but Kangana requested the makers to keep it as Thalaivi for all languages.
Sharing her feelings of being a part of Jayalalithaa biopic, Kangana Ranaut recently said: "I always wanted to work in regional films because when we go to Tamil Nadu or Andhra Pradesh, we realise that people over there only watch films made by their local film industry. So there is a disconnect with that part of the country. I was waiting for a good opportunity to work over there and this film just came my way."
On whether she will learn Tamil for the film, she said: “Yes...Unless I fail miserably and they (the makers of the film) have to look for an option for my dubbing. But I will definitely learn the language.”
Reportedly, Vidya Balan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan were also considered for the role. Directed by AL Vijay, the biopic is written by KV Vijayendra Prasad.
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