The official poster of A Priyadhaarshini’s The Iron Lady, a biopic of former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa was released on Wednesday. Nithya Menen plays Jayalalithaa.
The poster, which anoints the actor-turned politician as India’s Margaret Thatcher, was released on December 5 to mark Jayalalithaa’s second death anniversary. “God often takes the form of humans with kindness,” the filmmaker said in her tweet.
The biopic will go on the floors on February 24, 2019. Priyadhaarshini, who has worked in Mysskin’s films as an associate director, will make her directorial debut with The Iron Lady.
The film will chronicle the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader’s years as a movie star and the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, the filmmaker told The Hindu in an interview. “The film will strive to recreate the old studios in Kodambakkam where she shot for her films,” Priyadhaarshini added.
Tamil director Vijay (Madrasapattinam) is also working on a Jayalalithaa biopic, according to an announcement made by Vibri Media in August earlier this year. Vijay’s film will reportedly be released in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi.
Jayalalithaa died of a cardiac arrest on December 5, 2016. Between 1961 and 1980, she starred in 140 films in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. She appeared in a number of successful films with MG Ramachandran in the 1960s, including Aayirathil Oruvan, Chandhrodhayam, Major Chandrakanth and Arasa Kattalai. She first assumed the chief ministership of Tamil Nadu in 1991.
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