Thalaivii: The Kangana-Arvind Show

The undisputed queen of Bollywood, none other than Kangana Ranaut, stuns us yet again with the spectacular biopic Thalaivii. Based on actor-turned-Chief Minister Jayalalitha’s life, the flick predominantly chronicles the journey of Jayalalitha’s personal life, with the gorgeous blending of her powerful political career. Brilliantly helmed by Vijay, the multilingual film is like a roller coaster which encapsulates the ups and downs of Jaya’s life in a dynamic fashion.

The film begins with Jaya (Kangana Ranaut), a playful and straightforward girl, who is forced to choose film as a career by her mother (Bhagyashree), and how she meets MGR (Arvind Swamy), the superstar of Tamil Nadu. MGR and Jaya gradually form an intimate equation, and soon after his political career kicks off, Veerapan (Raj Arjun) suggests MGR to put his ties with Jayalalitha to rest. MGR’s departure from her life coupled with her mother’s death makes things devastatingly tough for Jaya. However, later on, on MGR’s suggestion, Jaya joins politics against Karuna (Nassar) and makes Tamil Nadu proud by her sincere services towards people.

The crown of the film categorically goes to Kangana Ranaut... My God! I feel she has emoted scores of expressions in the film effortlessly. She has put on a few kilos for the film, which she handles gracefully, furthermore, she is so authentic in the film— I mean she does not try to imitate Jayalalitha, which snowballs the challenge for her as an actor, and she pulls it off quite wisely. Her transition from a chulbuli larki to an honest CM is so smooth and surreal. Kangana’s classical portrayal of the character could be used as a study guide for the people who are looking to master their dialogue delivery skills, expression games and even characterization tendencies. Kangana’s presence in MGR's death scene is superior to the whole career of some actresses; she emotes agony, pain, loss, and humiliation in a single sequence so exceptionally; and the whole sequence bursts you in tears. Furthermore, another jaw-dropping performance has been given by Arvind Swamy; he delivers a controlled yet captivating performance. His chemistry with Kangana is extremely flamboyant and touching. It feels like you are actually watching the real MGR on screen, so realistic yet exuberant and exquisite. Besides, Raj Arjun as Veerapan is so convincing, he just aces his character through his eyes and paralanguage. Moreover, witnessing Bhagyashree after ages was a sheer delight, she still looks absolutely charming. Other characters including Nassar and Madhoo assist in moving the story forward.

The film is through-and-through a wholesome experience. It encompasses drama, emotions, reality, power, politics, glamour in a very pragmatic manner. The USP of the film is that the director Vijay paints the biopic without over-dramatizing the events. Each frame depicts the remarkable vision of the makers coiled around the facts. The director highlights specific chunks from Jaya’s life which makes you ponder and admire her struggle, her influential persona and infectious chirpiness. The pace of the film is relatively rapid, which I believe, has been done intentionally by the director to showcase the multiplicity of Jaya’s life. However, I feel, the film is more about the love story between Jaya and MGR, and less about Jaya as Chief Minister; this could be a slight disappointment for the viewers who have known and seen her as an upright politician.

The dialogues by Rajat Arora are superb, and define the classical era of India. However, for me, what lacked is good music. The songs by G.V. Prakash Kumar is quite run-of-the-mill, and could have been made better by adding a more pleasing touch to them. From all the tracks, Nain Bandhe Nain is the one which will spellbind you by immensely soft yet bewitching vocals of Saindhavi; the track is soulful.

The special mention should be given to designer Neeta Lulla, for such wonderful transitions, all the characters had strong resemblance with the real stars. In the second half, the manner with which everyone grows old is so awe-striking. At this point makeup expertise of the artists speak volumes. Hats off to the team.

The first half of the film was superb and touching, whereas the second half defines the film and the titular character in the true manner. However, the only thing which disturbed me were the several yet clear flaws in the editing, the abrupt cuts to the other scene were quite bizarre, which gives a very casual impression. Furthermore, the climax seemed so incomplete; just imagine it ends on such a high-spirited note and suddenly after a while you see the credits rolling. It feels like having a half-baked Medhu Vada (an Indian snack). Hope that Thalaivii 2 hits the theatres soon.

On the whole, the film is a must-watch, specifically if someone wants to witness some astonishing performances from the Hindi Cinema, and here I am definitely referring to Kangana and Arvind. Thalaivii is one of the finest biopics ever made and should be included in the curriculum in terms of performances and makeup skills.