Arvind Swami to play MG Ramachandran in Jayalalithaa biopic

Actor Arvind Swami is set to portray former Tamil Nadu chief minister MG Ramachandran, aka MGR, in a biopic on former AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa.

Titled Thalaivi in Tamil and Jaya in Hindi, the movie will be directed by Vijay, who has helmed films like Madrasapattinam and Deiva Thirumagal, while actor Kangana Ranaut will portray Jayalalithaa.

The film will be written by KV Vijayendra Prasad, who has also penned Baahubali and Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, and produced by Vishnu Vardhan Induri and Shailesh R Singh under the banners of Vibri and Karma Media and Entertainment.

Also read: Biopic on KCR to trace his journey – infancy to CM of Telangana

“MGR and Jayalalithaa starred in 28 box-office hits between 1965 and 1973. While the makers needed a worthy actor to do justice to his role, another criterion was that he be fluent in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. Arvind satisfied both criteria,” a source close to the development said. Swami will start working on the film from November 15.

MGR formed the AIADMK, after quitting the DMK in 1972, and captured power in the state in 1977. He served as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for 10 years continuously until his death on December 24, 1987. He was a mentor figure to Jayalalithaa, who died on December 5, 2016, due to cardiac arrest.