Arvind Swami to play MG Ramachandran in Jayalalithaa biopic

South star Arvind Swami is set to portray former Tamil Nadu chief minister MG Ramachandran in a biographical drama film on J Jayalalithaa.

Titled "Thalaivi" in Tamil and "Jaya" in Hindi, the movie will be directed by Vijay, one of the top filmmakers from South who has helmed films such as "Madrasapattinam" and "Deiva Thirumagal".

Jayalalithaa, the former CM of Tamil Nadu, passed away on December 5, 2016 due to cardiac arrest. She is fondly referred to as 'Puratchi Thalaivi', which means 'revolutionary leader'.

Ramachandran, an actor-turned politician, was popularly known as MGR among his followers. He had formed the political party, AIADMK, after quitting the DMK in 1972 and captured power in the state in 1977.

He continued as the chief minister for 10 consecutive years till his death on December 24, 1987. He was a mentor figure to Jayalalithaa.

"MGR and Jayalalithaa starred in 28 box-office hits between 1965 and 1973. While the makers needed a worthy actor to do justice to his role, another criterion was that the artiste be fluent in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. Arvind satisfied both criteria," a source close to the development said.

The film will be written by K V Vijayendra Prasad, who has also penned "Baahubali" and "Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi", and produced by Vishnu Vardhan Induri and Shaailesh R Singh under the banners of Vibri and Karma Media and Entertainment.

Swami will start working on the film from November 15 onwards, the makers said.

Actor Kangana Ranaut will portray Jayalalithaa in the film.