Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut is currently riding high on the success of her film ‘Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi’. The controversy queen is now all set to portray former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in an upcoming biopic. Titled ‘Thalaivi’ in Tamil and ‘Jaya’ in Hindi, the film is a bilingual and will be directed by AL Vijay. Jayalaithaa’s biopic is written by KV Vijayendra Prasad. The project was announced on Kangana’s birthday i.e on March 23. Reportedly, Kangana will be paid Rs. 24 crores for playing the role of Tamil Nadu’s former Chief Minister.
According to a report published by Pinkvilla, Kangana will be the highest paid Bollywood actor for any South venture. Pinkvilla also quoted a source as saying, “Kangana is being paid to the tune of Rs 24 crore for the bilingual project, which will be made in Hindi and Tamil. The makers are sure that her star power will help reach a pan-India audience. The producers have already signed a contract with her”.
It is to be noted that Jayalalithaa was a legendary actress turned politician, who is fondly referred to as ‘Puratchi Thalaivi’, which means ‘revolutionary leader’. Vidya Balan’s name was also linked to the project. Apart from that, Nithya Menon has already played The Iron Lady in another biopic on Jayalalithaa. Jayalalithaa served five terms as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for over fourteen years between 1991 and 2016. In the 2016 assembly election, she became the first Tamil Nadu chief minister since MGR in 1984 to be voted back into office. That September, she fell severely ill and, following 75 days of hospitalisation, died on 5 December 2016 due to cardiac arrest.
In the meantime, Kangana will be seen next in ‘Mental Hai Kya’ opposite Rajkummar Rao as well as in Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari’s ‘Panga’.
Also Read: CONFIRMED: Kangana Ranaut Signed For The Biopic Of Tamil Nadu’s Former CM Jayalalithaa