Thalaivii

Thalaivii
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	A. L. Vijay
Written by	K. V. Vijayendra Prasad Madhan Karky (Tamil) Rajat Arora (Hindi)
Produced by	Vishnu Vardhan Induri Shailesh R Singh Brinda Prasad
Starring	Kangana Ranaut Arvind Swami
Cinematography	Vishal Vittal
Edited by	Anthony Ballu Saluja
Music by	G. V. Prakash Kumar
Production companies	Zee Studios Vibri Motion Pictures Karma Media And Entertainment Gothic Entertainment Sprint Films
Distributed by	Zee Studios
Release date	10 September 2021 (2021-09-10)
Running time	153 minutes
Country	India
Languages	Tamil Hindi
Budget	₹100 crore

Thalaivii (transl. Female leader) is a 2021 Indian biographical drama film based on the life of Indian actress-politician J. Jayalalithaa. The film stars Kangana Ranaut as Jayalalithaa and Arvind Swami as M. G. Ramachandran. Shot simultaneously in Tamil and Hindi, it is directed by A. L. Vijay and written by K. V. Vijayendra Prasad, Madhan Karky (Tamil), and Rajat Arora (Hindi). Thalaivii is produced by Vishnu Vardhan Induri and Shailesh R Singh of Vibri Motion Pictures and Karma Media And Entertainment respectively. The film also features Nassar, Bhagyashree, Raj Arjun, Madhoo, Jisshu Sengupta, Thambi Ramaiah, Shamna Kasim and Samuthirakani in supporting roles. The music, background score and the soundtrack for all three languages is composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar.

The film was launched officially on Jayalalithaa's birth anniversary in 24 February 2019. Initially the film was titled Thalaivi in Tamil and Jaya in Hindi and Telugu languages, but the makers later planned to release it under the title Thalaivi in all three languages. Principal shooting began on 10 November 2019 and completed in December 2020. The film was initially scheduled for a theatrical release on 23 April 2021 but was postponed due to rise in COVID-19 cases and lockdown in Maharashtra. It was later rescheduled to release on 10 September 2021, with the new title Thalaivii. The film received generally positive reviews, with reviewers praising the film for its screenplay, music, costume design and the performances of Ranaut and Swami.

Plot

This movie stars Kanagana Ranaut in the role of former actress and politician J. Jayalalitha. It tracks her life over the years as an actress, as a politician and how she rose as a feminist figure in a male dominated Indian Politics

Cast

• Kangana Ranaut as J. Jayalalithaa
• Arvind Swami as M. G. Ramachandran
• Nassar as M. Karunanidhi
• Bhagyashree as Sandhya
• Samuthirakani as R. M. Veerappan (Tamil and Telugu versions)
• Raj Arjun as R. M. Veerappan (Hindi version)
• Madhu Bala as V. N. Janaki Ramachandran
• Thambi Ramaiah as Madhavan nair
• Poorna as V. K. Sasikala
• Flora Jacob as Indira Gandhi
• Bharath Reddy
• Vidya Pradeep
• Shanmugarajan as Valampuri John
• Radha Ravi as M. R. Radha

Production

Development

Vishnu Vardhan Induri decided to make a film based on the life of AIADMK's former general secretary J. Jayalalithaa, who served six times as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years between 1991 and 2016. Producer Vishnu Vardhan Induri approached A. L. Vijay in early 2018, to direct the film. Vijay and Vishnu researched extensively for eight months to come up with the story. To make the writing more effective, Vishnu brought in K. V. Vijayendra Prasad for the script who further developed the script.

The film will focus on the journey of a woman who has been successful in a male-dominated world. The most beautiful thing about her is that she has a powerful mind and is very strong willed; she is an inspiration for many. There will be honesty in the biopic, not drama.

— A. L. Vijay, on directing Thalaivi in an interview with The Times of India.

In August 2018, Vidya Balan was reported to play the lead character when the film initially came to news. However, when the project was launched on 24 February 2019 (Jayalalithaa's birth anniversary), under the title Thalaivii, the makers had approached Kangana Ranaut to play Jayalalithaa's role, as Vijay stated that her role will be apt for the film. Ranaut officially confirmed her part in March 2019, with the shooting being supposed to held in July 2019.

As per Kangana, there will be two parts of the film. The first part focuses on life of Jayalalilthaa from 16 to 40. There will be a second film, where her life from 41 to her death in 2016 will get covered.

Casting and characters

Ranaut started preparing for her role in May 2019. In September 2019, prosthetic specialist Jason Collins, who worked on Captain Marvel (2019), was hired to design Ranaut's looks and it has been reported that she will sport four looks in the film. Both Ranaut and Vijay headed to Los Angeles to undergo the prosthetic sessions. Ranaut also trained under dance master Gayathri Raghuram to choreograph Bharatanatyam sequences for this film so as to suit for the character. The second round of look tests were held during October, which led Ranaut to spend nearly two months for the preparation of her role. She also gained 20 kilos for her role in the film.

In October 2019, Arvind Swami was roped in to play the role of M. G. Ramachandran. The very same month, the makers approached Prakash Raj to play the role of DMK politician M. Karunanidhi, although he donned a similar character inspiring the politician in the 1997 film Iruvar. Vijay Deverakonda was reported to play the role of Sobhan Babu, Jayalalithaa's close aide, before Jisshu Sengupta was finalised. Similarly, Priyamani was approached to play V. K. Sasikala, but, she could not allot dates for the film and the role went to Poorna; Madhoo essayed the role of V. N. Janaki.

Filming

Principal shooting began in Mysore on 10 November 2019. A huge set for a song sequence was erected at a studio in Chennai, and began filming on 1 February 2020, featuring Ranaut in a Bharatanatyam attire. During the song shoot Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, whom Ranaut worked in Panga (2020) made a visit to the sets. Production was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with major portions being filmed, Ranaut stated not to resume shoot as the climax scene requires more than 3000 extras and is to be made on a large scale. After multiple delays, the makers filmed the climax scene in mid-November 2020, with production being completed in December 2020.

Soundtrack

Thalaivii
Soundtrack album by G. V. Prakash Kumar
Released	10 September 2021 (All languages)
Recorded	2020
Genre	Feature film soundtrack
Length	25:35 (All languages)
Language	Tamil Hindi Telugu
Label	T-Series

The music for the film is composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar and lyrics written by Madhan Karky (Tamil versions) and Irshad Kamil (Hindi version) and Sira Sri, Bhaskarabhatla, Ramajogayya Sastry, Krishna Chaitanya and Kalyana Chakravarthy (Telugu versions). The music rights are acquired by T-Series.

All lyrics are written by Madhan Karky

Tamil

No.	Title	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Mazhai Mazhai"	Saindhavi Prakash	3:22
2.	"Unthan Kangalil Ennadiyo"	Nakul Abhyankar, Niranjana Ramanan	3:28
3.	"Kannum Kannum Pesa Pesa"	Saindhavi Prakash	4:00
4.	"Unakaana Ulagam"	K. S. Harisankar, Ananya Bhat	5:03
5.	"Vaa Thalaivii"	Nakul Abhyankar	5:48
6.	"Tugalai Tugalai"	G. V. Prakash Kumar	3:54
Total length:			25:35

All lyrics are written by Irshad Kamil

Hindi

No.	Title	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Chali Chali"	Saindhavi Prakash	3:22
2.	"Teri Aankhon Mein"	Armaan Malik, Prajakta Shukre	3:28
3.	"Nain Bandhe Naino Se"	Saindhavi Prakash	4:00
4.	"Hai Kamaal"	Shankar Mahadevan, Parul Mishra	5:03
5.	"Aa Thalaivii"	Amit Mishra	5:48
6.	"Tukuda Tukuda"	G. V. Prakash Kumar	3:54
Total length:			25:35

Telugu

No.	Title	Lyrics	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Ilaa Ilaa"	Sira Sri	Saindhavi Prakash	3:22
2.	"Nee Kannullo Emunnado"	Bhaskarabhatla	Nakul Abhyankar, Niranjana Ramanan	3:28
3.	"Nandhalala"	Ramajogayya Sastry	Saindhavi Prakash	4:00
4.	"Kumari Idhi Nee Daari"	Ramajogayya Sastry	Anurag Kulkarni, Ananya Bhat	5:03
5.	"Ra ThalaiviI"	Krishna Chaitanya	Anurag Kulkarni	5:48
6.	"Visirey Visirey"	Kalyana Chakravarthy	Nakul Abhyankar	3:54
Total length:				25:25

Marketing and release

The first look and teaser released on 23 November 2019, received positive response praising Ranaut's transformation. However, a section of audience expressed disappointment over the "terrible" prosthetics and initiated a troll fest through Twitter. Some netizens claimed that any other actor should have done better in place of Ranaut and further upset that she could end up "tarnishing Jayalalithaa's image through this film". However, Ranaut's sister Rangoli Chandel defended the actress, saying that "those who got eyes can see the fantastic work done by the prosthetic team".

The film was initially scheduled for a theatrical release on 26 June 2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in India. In June 2020, the team announced that the film will have a theatrical release and may not have a direct OTT release. The film was then scheduled for release theatrically on 23 April 2021 in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu languages. As of April 2021, the release date of film was indefinitely delayed due to rise in COVID-19 cases and lockdown in Maharashtra. It was later rescheduled to release on 10 September 2021, with the new title Thalaivii. The film will be available for streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video simultaneously, four weeks after its theatrical release.

The makers of Thalaivii announced a two-week window for the Hindi version and a four-week window for Tamil and Telugu versions of the film before its release in the OTT services. Multiplex chains PVR Cinemas and INOX have expressed their disapproval over this policy and appealed for a uniform four-week window across all the language versions. Ranaut responded they could a find a solution with the talks so that "the Hindi version can also find love and appreciation on the big screen."

Reception

Thalaivii received positive reviews from the film critics who praised the film for its screenplay, background music and the performances of Ranaut and Swami.

Trade Analyst Taran Adarsh gave Thalaivii a rating of 4/5 and called it one of the most powerful biopics to release on Hindi screens. He praised Ranaut by calling her performance in Thalaivii her career-best act and the most demanding role of her career. He further praised the writing and the screenplay of the film and wrote, "Writers Vijayendra Prasad and Rajat Arora encompass pertinent episodes from Jayalalithaa’s life and weave a captivating, sharp screenplay that highlights her struggles, obstacles, apprehensions and eventual triumph". He concluded his review by praising the direction of the film and wrote, "Vijay’s direction is top notch; He balances the love story and dramatic moments seamlessly and also captures the bygone era with precision and delivers a film that has soul, scale and style". Renuka Vyavahare from The Times of India gave Thalaivii a rating of 3.5/5 and wrote, "Thalaivii pays a resounding ode to Jaya-MGR’s poignant love story. The political portion feels reverential and lacks objectivity". Praising Ranaut's performance she wrote, "Ranaut in the titular role channels her inner rebel to make a point — she plays second fiddle to no one; A classic case of her screen character imitating her real life in a way. She renders a powerful portrayal of a lovelorn woman who keeps rising like a Phoenix from the ashes. She elevates the detailed but formulaic script with quiet determination and powerful presence; She doesn’t mimic Jaya but gets the tone and nuances of her character right". She also praised Swami's performance and further wrote, "Swami is impeccable in his mannerisms and body language. There couldn’t have been a better actor to play the Tamil screen icon and people’s leader". Sonil Dedhia from News 18 called Thalaivii an "enjoyable film" and praised Ranaut's performance by stating, "Kangana doesn’t try to modulate her voice or pick up a Tamil accent is a wise decision; With deft nuance and the assistance of minimal makeup, she effortlessly transforms into this actor turned politician and delivers a pitch-perfect portrayal".

Bharathi Pradhan of Lehren gave the film a rating of 4/5 and wrote, "There’s drama, there’s heartfelt feeling, there’s wit, and there’s outwitting in this film; Sometimes by Jaya, sometimes by RNV (Raj Arjun). But the amalgamation of fine writing, direction and performances keep crudity, boredom and heaviness at bay". Praising Ranaut's performance she further wrote, "Making the film immensely watchable is Kangana; It’s only after seeing her as Jaya that you agree with director Vijay who said the Himachali was the apt choice to play the Chennai cine star and Chief Minister. Kangana is what I’d call, award-worthy perfect". Monika Rawal Kukreja of Hindustan Times wrote, "Thalaivii isn't about Jayalalithaa's journey as a politician but how she transformed into a formidable Amma to millions; The Kangana Ranaut-starrer is packed with solid performances and an attention to period detail, but is let down by its length and an incomplete-feeling story". Calling Ranaut's performance in the film "solid" she further wrote, "Kangana's performance as Jayalalithaa deserves applause; she holds her ground in every single scene. She doesn't imitate Jaya, yet leaves an impact; she taps into Jaya's rebellious spirit, her ferocity in challenging patriarchy, and her empathy when it comes to serving people". Bollywood Hungama gave the film a rating of 3.5/5 and wrote, "Thalaivii is a well-made and well-written political saga that is embellished with yet another award winning performance by Kangana Ranaut". Praising Ranaut's performance they further wrote, "Ranaut lives the role and is fantastic to say the least; as the heroine of the bygone era, she is completely convincing and even as a fiery political leader, she rocks the show. In short, this is yet another award worthy performance from the National Award winning actor".

Film critic Bhawana Somaaya gave Thalaivii a rating of 4/5 and wrote, "If Kangana’s ensemble team of hair/ makeup/choreographer and stylist Neeta Lulla dress up the body of Jayalalitha, the soul comes from Kangana’s sparklingly, uncompromised, flawless performance; Ranaut is riveting in every frame and you cannot look at anything while she is on the screen". Adelle Fernandes of Republic World gave the film a rating of 4/5 and praised Ranaut's performance by stating, "Kangana gets into the skin of her character and plays the iconic Jayalalithaa perfect to the T. Brilliantly capturing the accent, believable acting and dancing too make the audience believe they are watching Jayalalithaa in the flesh; Ranaut truly delivers some goosebump-inducing moments in the film - be it her dialogue delivery or acting through her eyes". Syed Firdaus Ashraf of Rediff gave the film a rating of 3.5/5 and wrote, "The beauty of Thalaivii is the chemistry between Arvind Swamy and Kangana, which Director A. L. Vijay weaves so well". Praising Ranaut's performance he further wrote, "No other Bollywood actress can do justice to Jayalalithaa's life like Kangana; Thalaivii proves Kangana is the Queen of Bollywood".

Film critic Baradwaj Rangan of Film Companion described Thalaivii as a "larger-than-life movie told in an almost mythical masala mode" and wrote, "Scene after scene, the achievement of the film is how there’s always something new that keeps your eyes riveted, even though you already know these stories". Praising Ranaut's performance he further wrote, "Kangana’s terrific because she does not try to channel or mimic Jayalalitha; Instead she channels and mimics the lack of power, the frustrations, the disappointments and the fact of what it meant to be a woman in politics back then". Shubhra Gupta from The Indian Express gave the film a rating of 3/5. She praised Ranaut's performance and wrote, "Kangana Ranaut play this version of Jaya in Thalaivii with a perfectly-judged mixture of vulnerability and hauteur, there’s no question that she owns the part; This is an actor on the top of her game. Kangana inhabits this very complex character like skin in Thalaivii, right from the time Jaya is a budding actress, coat-trailing the mighty MGR, to her meteoric rise in the film industry, and her transition, reluctant at first, and then getting steadier and surer, into an ambitious, give-no-quarters politician. Ambica Sachin of Khaleej Times gave the film a rating of 3/5 and wrote, "Thalaivii is a movie that plays out as a feminist parable of the rise of a strong single woman, who had to fight her way to cult status". Praising Ranaut's performance she further wrote, "Kangana doesn’t try to mimic the iconic leader but rather delves into the spirit of a woman whose journey from Ammu to Amma, a figure revered and reviled in equal measures by those who knew her, is the stuff of folklore".

Stutee Ghosh from The Quint gave the film arating of 2.57/5 and wrote "The writing and dialogues severely let down Thalaivii. It is the kind of film that wants to dictate what we should think or feel at any given point of time and that can prove to be very frustrating. However, the casting adroitly helps it stay afloat. One is willing to go the distance for Kangna Ranaut's performance".Koimoi gave a rating of 2.5/5 and wrote "Thalaivii has a lot of good things going in its favour but it remains half-baked only for the reason of what it could’ve been?". India Today gave a rating of 2/5 and wrote "Kangana Ranaut's mediocre act is no match for J Jayalalithaa's tenacity and said the film attempts to capture her journey from being an actress to a politician, but fails to do so". Firstpost gave a rating of 1.5/5 and wrote "The film begins and ends where it is convenient for the filmmaker not to indulge in political complexities. It stays true to real events, doing little work by way of writing. It does little to explore the inner journey of any of its characters. It exaggerates events for dramatic effect so much so that if we made two-three more biopics like this, we would end up giving Jayalalithaa sainthood". NDTV gave a rating of 2/5 and wrote the movie is "Botched by massive missteps, Thalaivi is the Amma of all misfires.", "Bollywood biopics, be they hagiographies or hatchet jobs, rarely get their act right. Thalaivi does nothing to change the scenario It hurtles around aimlessly - and futilely - in search of a plank that can hold its weight".

Legal issues

The producers initially received permission from Jayalalithaa's nephew Deepak Jayakumar in his request to make it as "an honest portrayal of her life". However, Jayalalithaa's niece, Deepa Jayakumar, in November 2019, registered a complaint against the film's makers through the Madras High Court. She asserted that she was the legal heir of Jayalalitha and that before making a movie or a web series about her life, the creators of the film should have approached her. She also said that the film makers have no legal right to make a film about the life of Jayalalithaa, which could affect the privacy of her aunt and her family. Deepa also demanded that the whole script be sent to her well before movie comes to the theatres. The Madras High Court gave Deepa approval to take legal action against director AL Vijay, film producer Vishnu and Gautham Menon who also made a web series about Jayalalithaa's life titled Queen.

External links

• Thalaivii at IMDb
• Thalaivii at Bollywood Hungama