Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who had played a role inspired by J Jayalalithaa in Mani Ratnam's political drama Iruvar, is reportedly being considered to play the lead in the biopic of Tamil Nadu's former chief minister. Apart from the Mangaluru-born actress, Deepika Padukone, Vidya Balan, Tabu and few others are also in the race to act in the multilingual project.
Incidentally, in an interview with Simi Garewal in 1999, J Jayalalithaa had stated that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan would be the best actress to play her if ever the biopic on the Tamil Nadu chief minister is made. Nonetheless, the makers are yet to approach her for the untitled flick.
The forthcoming movie is funded by Vishnu Induri of Vibri Media which is currently producing late Telugu actor-turned-politician NTR's biopic in which Vidya Balan is playing the role of his wife Basavatarakam. Hence, there is a good chance of the producers convincing her to take up the project.
"We are looking at a Bollywood actress, since this a national, multilingual film. We want the story to travel across India. Though Jayalalithaa was the CM of Tamil Nadu, her story has a global appeal. We have approached two-three top Bollywood actresses," Mid-Day quoted Vishnu as saying.
Almost two years after her death, there seems to be some progress on the biopic of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. There were a couple of filmmakers, who were interested to handle the subject, but in the end, director Vijay has got the opportunity to helm the project.
"Madam Dr J. Jayalalitha was one of those rare few regional leaders who went on to become a force to reckon within Indian politics. Her life is an inspiration for women folk around the world. This film will be a tribute to her achievements both in cinema and politics," Behindwoods quotes the makers as saying.
The movie will be launched on the occasion of J Jayalalithaa's birthday on February 24. It will be simultaneously made in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi.
Jayalalithaa had passed away after a prolonged illness in Chennai in December 2016. She remains an inspiring person as she reached the pinnacle of her popularity in both the film industry and politics.
