Opportunity to play an iconic figure and a powerful woman like Jaya amma, was the biggest inspiration for me: Kangana Ranaut

All set to inspire you to the core with the story of someone who fought for her people being one of the most influential politicians in history, we have Thalaivi primed to have its channel premiere only on &pictures on 27th February at 8pm. To throw light on her experience working on the project, Kangana talks about her inspiration to work on the film, adapting mannerisms and how she relates with the role.

- What inspired you to do the movie Thalaivi?
Thalaivi was definitely a life-changing experience for me as it was profuse with learning. Opportunity to play an iconic figure and a powerful woman like Jaya amma, was the biggest inspiration for me. She was a powerful politician with a purpose, who fought persistently for her people. There was a lot of work that went behind adapting physique and mannerisms like her. The portrayal of Jaya amma in the plotline stretched from her teens to her early 40s which is a transformation that is greatly challenging in itself. It was the director of the film, Vijay Sir, whose belief in me made me trust the process and be a part of Thalaivi, and I am only glad to have made that decision.

- Your portrayal of Jayalalithaa was spot on, how was the journey to imbibe the mannerisms to understand her mindset?
Whenever I take up a project, I ensure that I do complete justice to it. I very closely studied her character, mannerisms, and everything about her personality to ingrain it into my performance. Among one of the many hats that she wore, Jaya amma was also a trained professional dancer and to closely imbibe that into my performance, it was a huge challenge. Every element of the journey made me bring out the best in me, aspects that I hadn’t even had a chance to discover yet before.

- Do you draw any parallel between you and Jayalalithaa when it comes to facing any troubled situation?
Everyday during the shoot, I felt more connected with Jaya amma. I got to know so much and so deeply about her. In life we are posed with challenges where we are tested at every step, so it feels great to have known someone like her who had to go through so much and yet she rose like a phoenix through all that she was put through. In any situation today, I am able to draw parallels as it is a role that helped me grow both – professionally and personally.

- How was the experience of working with Arvind Swamy as MGR?
Arvind Sir, as a person, is very courteous and friendly. He is someone who helps you in your process. He’s done such fabulous work as MGR that one could barely distinguish anything. I’ve also observed that he’s really spontaneous on screen, and that’s where I relate with him as even I am someone who doesn’t do a lot of takes for a scene. This is what made the whole process of working with him smooth and great fun. In the journey of knowing him during the shoot, I also realized that he is one of the most genuine people I’ve known.