Thalaivii (transl. Female leader) is a 2021 Indian biographical drama film based on the life of actress and politician J. Jayalalithaa. Directed by A. L. Vijay and written by V. Vijayendra Prasad, with dialogues by Madhan Karky (Tamil) and Rajat Arora (Hindi), it was produced by Vishnu Vardhan Induri and Shailesh R Singh. The film stars Kangana Ranaut as Jayalalithaa, Arvind Swamy as M. G. Ramachandran, Nassar as M. Karunanidhi, and Raj Arjun and Samuthirakani as R. M. Veerappan in the Hindi and Tamil versions, respectively.
Shot simultaneously in Tamil and Hindi, the film features an ensemble cast including Bhagyashree, Madhoo, Thambi Ramaiah, and Shamna Kasim. The music and background score were composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar.
The film was officially launched on Jayalalithaa's birth anniversary on 24 February 2019. It was initially titled Thalaivi in Tamil and Jaya in Hindi, but was later released under the title Thalaivii in both languages.
Plot
In 1989, Jayalalithaa (nicknamed Jaya), a member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly representing the opposition AIADMK, questions Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi of the DMK over allegations of corruption, arrests, and surveillance against her party. She demands his resignation and praises former Chief Minister M. G. Ramachandran (MGR) as a leader who truly served the people. Members of the ruling party question her relationship with MGR, leading to a scuffle in which she is assaulted and humiliated. Comparing herself to Draupadi, Jaya vows to return to the assembly only after becoming Chief Minister. The incident attracts widespread media attention and public sympathy.
The narrative then shifts to 1965, when MGR is at the peak of his film career. Producer R. M. Veerappan dismisses an actress to maintain MGR’s public image. Jaya, then 16, is encouraged by her mother Sandhya, a former actress, to enter films. She replaces Savitri in a film, initially displaying reluctance and arrogance. However, after witnessing MGR’s compassion on set and understanding her mother’s intentions, she becomes more committed. The film succeeds, and Jaya and MGR go on to star in several films together, developing a close bond. Veerappan attempts to distance Jaya from MGR, but she resists. Despite their closeness, Jaya feels sidelined due to MGR’s marriage to Janaki.
Following an incident in which MGR is shot and hospitalised, Veerappan sidelines Jaya from future projects. Feeling betrayed, she briefly collaborates with MGR’s rival Sivaji Ganesan. MGR later reconciles with her, and they resume working together.
MGR enters politics alongside Karunanidhi under Annadurai, but is eventually expelled from the party. He later forms his own party, the AIADMK. Meanwhile, Jaya is deeply affected by her mother’s death and distances herself from MGR. After Annadurai’s death, MGR becomes Chief Minister. Jaya gradually transitions away from films and eventually accepts an invitation to perform at a government event in Madurai, where MGR encourages her to enter politics. Though initially reluctant, she later agrees.
Jaya becomes actively involved in public welfare, particularly promoting the midday meal scheme. Her efforts earn her the popular title “Amma”. She rises within the party, becoming its propaganda secretary and later a Member of Parliament. During a visit to New Delhi, she is initially denied access to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, but later impresses national leaders with her speech in the Rajya Sabha. She facilitates an alliance with the Congress, which leads to tensions within her party.
After Indira Gandhi’s assassination, Rajiv Gandhi requests Jaya to campaign during MGR’s absence due to medical treatment in the United States. Her efforts help sustain the party’s influence. Upon MGR’s return, he acknowledges her contributions. However, before they can reconcile fully, MGR dies in 1987. At his funeral, Jaya is publicly mistreated by supporters of Janaki. The AIADMK subsequently splits into factions supporting Janaki and Jaya, allowing Karunanidhi to return to power.
Returning to 1989, Veerappan apologises to Jaya and becomes her supporter. In 1990, she survives an attack on her life. Despite political challenges, she continues campaigning vigorously. Following Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, elections are held, and her party wins a decisive victory.
Jaya returns to the legislative assembly as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, fulfilling her earlier vow and consolidating her leadership within the party.
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 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.
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. In November 2019, it was revealed that the biopic will be shot simultaneously in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu. However, the Telugu version was dropped in favor of a dubbed release.
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; however, this role was later dropped. 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.
Music
The music for the film is composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar and lyrics written by Madhan Karky (Tamil version) and Irshad Kamil (Hindi version) and Sira Sri, Bhaskarabhatla, Ramajogayya Sastry, Krishna Chaitanya and Kalyana Chakravarthy (Telugu dubbed version). The music rights are acquired by Lahari Music and T-Series.
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."
Thalaivii after limited and single screen theatrical release in India, It was released on Netflix (Hindi) 2 weeks later and on Amazon Prime Video (Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam) 4 weeks later with respect to the deals made by producers with OTT platforms. The Hindi version of the film had its world television premiere on Zee Cinema on Christmas Day, 25 December 2021. The film was anonymously dubbed in Bengali as Thalaivii Netri and was released on YouTube.
Box office
Made with a budget of ₹100 crore , the film earned ₹4.75 crore in its first week at the box office. The Indian Express reported that the movie had a dismal opening. The Hindi version earned ₹20 lakhs on Day 1, while it earned ₹80 lakhs in Tamil Nadu. Total Day 1 collection was reported to be ₹1.25 crore.
The film was a box office failure.
Critical reception
Upon release, Thalaivii was met with mixed reviews from film critics; Ranaut and Swamy's performance was praised but the screenplay of the film drew criticism. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 20% of 10 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.7/10.
