The trailer of Thalaivi, the upcoming biopic of actor-turned-politician J Jayalalithaa, was released on Kangana Ranaut's 34th birthday on Tuesday. Directed by A.L. Vijay, the film also stars Arvind Swami, Prakash Raj, Jisshu Sengupta and Bhagyashree, among others.
The trailer gives glimpses of Jayalalithaa's journey from the cinema to politics, her struggles, falls and then her subsequent rise to being the chief minister of the state. The trailer shows the indomitable spirit of Jayalalithaa and Kangana promises a powerful performance. The actress underwent massive physical transformation for the film, by gaining 20kgs and losing it, and also relying on prosthetics to portray the later portions of the movie. The trailer also shows the iconic moment where Jayalalithaa took on Indira Gandhi in her maiden speech in the Parliament in 1984.
Thalaivi will release on April 23.
Recently, Kangana praised director A.L. Vijay in a series of tweets and thanked him for being patient with her. She wrote “You are not only amazingly competent, your eyes shine brighter when I excel as an artist. Through so many ups and downs, I never saw a hint of anger, insecurity or despair in you. Spoke to people who know you for decades and when they speak about you their eyes light up. You are not a human, you are a devta. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart and know that I miss you.”