'Jayalalithaa's story is very similar to my story,' Kangana Ranaut reveals details about her upcoming regional biopic

As Kangana Ranaut celebrated her birthday on March 23, the actress spoke to the media about her next bilingual film titled 'Jaya', based on the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and actress Jayalalithaa.

READ | CONFIRMED: Kangana Ranaut To Play Former Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa In Her Biopic

Interacting with the media on her 32nd birthday, Kangana revealed details on what made her take up this project. She said: "Kangana said: "I always wanted to work in regional films because when we go to Tamil Nadu or Andhra Pradesh, we realise that people over there only watch films made by their local film industry. So there is a disconnect with that part of the country. I was waiting for a good opportunity to work over there and this film just came my way."

She added: “I was working on my own biopic, but her (Jayalalithaa) story is very similar to my story. In fact, it is a bigger success story than mine. When I heard the narration of this film, I found many similarities between both the stories. So when I had the option to do a film based on her story or my story, I decided on the former.”

"It will be made mainly in Tamil and will release in Hindi as well." Kangana further added.

Will she learn the language? "Yes...Unless I fail miserably and they (the makers of the film) have to look for an option for my dubbing. But I will definitely learn the language."

According to a few reports, Kangana Ranaut is being paid Rs 24 crore for the biopic, making her the highest paid actress in the country.

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Titled 'Thalaivi' in Tamil, the film will be directed by AL Vijay. Written by K.V. Vijayendra Prasad of 'Baahubali' and 'Manikarnika' fame, the film will be produced by Vishnu Vardhan Induri and Shaailesh R Singh under the banner of Vibri and Karma Media and Entertainment.

On the work front, Kangana was last seen in 'Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi' as warrior queen Rani Lakshmi Bai. The actor will next be seen in ‘Mental Hai Kya’, which also stars Rajkummar Rao. 

Apart from this, Indian film critic and trade analyst Taran Adarsh took to his Twitter handle to make the announcement.  He wrote, “Release date finalised... Kangana Ranaut, Jassie Gill, Richa Chadha and Neena Gupta... #Panga to release on 24 Jan 2020... Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari... Produced by Fox Star Studios.”  Kangana will be seen playing the role of a Kabbadi player in the upcoming film. The film has been helmed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari and also stars Neena Gupta and Richa Chadha in pivotal roles.