Kangana Ranaut says she had reservations about gaining weight for Thalaivii: ‘Will I even be attractive?’
Kangana Ranaut felt that she was the ‘worst’ casting choice for Thalaivii as she is so different from former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa. She also admitted to having reservations about putting on weight for the role.
Kangana Ranaut said that when she was first approached for Thalaivii, she was filled with doubts about whether she would be able to do justice to the part. She was also sceptical about gaining weight for the role. The film, which will hit the theatres this Friday, sees her playing former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa.
In an interview with Film Companion, Kangana admitted to not being too convinced about playing Jayalalithaa at first. “I thought I was the worst casting for Thalaivii, the worst there can be. Vijayendra (writer KV Vijayendra Prasad) sir actually came with the script to me and I saw Jaya amma’s videos and I was like, ‘What?’ Like, I have an angular face with a strong jaw and Jaya amma has a different kind of face. She is a beautiful, voluptuous woman and she is a Bharatanatyam dancer and she speaks Tamil.”
Even Jayalalithaa’s acting style was ‘different’ from hers and ‘more mainstream’, Kangana said. She also had reservations about putting on weight for the role. “The sheer obstacles in my 30s to gain 20-25 kgs of weight… Who knows how I will look after gaining? Will I even be attractive? There were so many doubts that I had.”
However, director Vijay convinced Kangana that she was perfect for the role. She felt that he had ‘so much to lose’ and if he was insisting, there must be some merit to his thinking.
Thalaivii will document the journey of Jayalalithaa from films to politics. Previously, in a series of tweets, Kangana talked about gaining 20 kgs for the role and how it left her back ‘severely damaged’. However, she said that everything is worth it when she looks at how the film turned out.
“Journey back to my fit body wasn’t easy, I feel good but even in seven months not able to achieve my earlier stamina and agility back and those last 5 kgs aren’t budging, there are moments of despair and then my director Vijay sir shows me Thalaivi footage and all seems fine,” she wrote.
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