Former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s niece Deepa has been given permission by the Madras High Court to sue the makers of Thalaivi and any other projects in the works on the late leader.
Now, Deepa can sue director AL Vijay of Thalaivi as well as the makers of other projects on Jayalalithaa’s life. This comes after she moved the Madras High Court earlier this month, seeking a stay on two projects in the making on Jayalalithaa’s personal and political journey – Thalaivi as well as a web-series directed by Gautham Menon.
Deepa said in her affidavit that neither Vijay nor Menon took her consent, and that they do not have any legal right to depict the life of Jayalalithaa on celluloid. She added that she wants the makers to seek her permission and submit the entire script to her.
The first look posters and teaser of Thalaivi dropped on the web last week. The video began with Kangana recreating Jayalalithaa’s iconic song from the 1965 Tamil blockbuster Vennira Aadai and cut to a shot of her at a political rally. The biopic will trace her journey from films to politics.
Soon after the teaser was released, it sparked widespread criticism for the heavy prosthetics used by Kangana. Netizens had a field day, with jokes and memes being made on the same.
However, the actor’s sister Rangoli Chandel came out in her support and tweeted, “Anyone who has got eyes can see the brilliance of prosthetic work baki samosa gang is there jo din ko raat aur raat ko din kehte hain, they are inconsequential.”
Rangoli Chandel✔@Rangoli_A
Anyone who has got eyes can see the brilliance of prosthetic work baki samosa gang is therjoin ko raat aur raat ko din kehte hain, they are inconsequential
https://twitter.com/vishinduri/status/1198820867997753344 …
Vishnu Induri✔@vishinduri
#Thalaivi is the journey of an actress who ruled millions of hearts and goes on to becoming a revolutionary leader who inspired millions of Lives. #Thalaiviat40 #KanganaRanaut #DirectorVijay @ShaaileshRSingh@BrindaPrasad1
Prasanta Patnaik