Kangana Ranaut’s Thalaivi trailer packs a bold and powerful punch

Actress Kangana Ranaut, who is turning 34 today, released the trailer of her much-awaited Tamil film Thalaivi on her birthday.

Taking to Twitter, Kangana tagged the rest of her cast and attached the YouTube link for the Thalaivi trailer.

The trailer has been released a day after the actress received the National Film Award under the Best Actress category for her performance in the Hindi films Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi and Panga.

Thalaivi, which is a biopic on J Jayalalithaa, actress and late former chief minister of Tamil Nadu, talks about the journey she underwent in the male-dominated field of politics to rise to power.

Jayalalithaa had started out as an actress and entered the political stream with guidance from the then-chief minister and her co-star in a number of films, MG Ramachandran, who was fondly known as ‘MGR’.

Kangana plays the role of the legendary and iconic leader, Jayalalithaa in the movie.

Also read: J Jayalalithaa's biopic Thalaivi starring Kangana Ranaut to release in theatres on April 23

The trailer begins with the portrayal of sexism and male chauvinism in politics which Jayalalithaa had faced. People are heard being sceptical over the fact that “a woman from the cinema industry is teaching us politics” and that politics was a “world that only men should rule.” Another man is also heard saying in disbelief and rage, “We have given this party to a woman and we’re standing behind her?!”

The trailer then moves on to depict Jayalalithaa (Kangana) as an actress in the film industry and shows numerous stills from the sets of her films. There’s also a brief moment here that hints at a romance between her and MGR, a topic that has been debated for years.

The trailer also features her entry into politics, the difficulties she faced with toxic masculinity, and region-based biases. In one such instance, an MP tells her, “I didn’t know South Indians could speak such good English,” to which Kangana’s character replies, “I also didn’t know North Indians can understand such good English!”

The violence that ensued at the Tamil Nadu State Assembly in 1988 after Jayalalithaa (AIADMK) moved a Breach of Privilege motion against the then-chief minister Karunanidhi (DMK) was also mentioned in the trailer.

Jayalalithaa’s accusation that the DMK government was tapping her calls and invading her privacy had triggered an uproar in the Assembly, with MLAs flinging papers and resorting to hand-to-hand combat. One of the DMK MLAs, Durai Murugan, had also pulled at her saree, which led to an ugly scenario. This incident was featured in the trailer.

The bold, power-packed trailer that conveys the numerous struggles Jayalalithaa faced as a woman, an actress, and as a politician, has fans eagerly waiting for the film to be released. Thalaivi is scheduled for release in theatres on April 23.