Kangana didn't succeed as Jayalalitha, now plays Indira Gandhi?
After failing to impress legendary J Jayalalitha and former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in her Tamil film ‘Thalaivi’, now B-town actress Kangana Ranaut is donning the role of former Prime Minister of India Ms. Indira Gandhi in her upcoming film ‘Emergency’. “No doubt, she is a good actress but she is not convincing enough while reprising roles of real-life politicians,” says a producer who adds, “She looked good and also nicely portrayed late Jayalalitha as an actress in ‘Thalaivi’. But when she transforms into a political firebrand and AIADMK propaganda secretary she was unable to convince the viewers and the film didn’t set the box office on fire as expected,” he adds.
Although ‘Thalaivi’ was trending on digital platforms and received a good response, the producer says audiences in theatres and digital space are quite different. “Actress-turned-politician Jayalalitha was a mass leader, yet audiences didn’t turn up in theatres in Tamil Nadu, while digital audiences are spread across states, and watching movies for them is a different ball game. Probably, they wanted to see the life of a former CM and not the actor,” he points out.
Hence, Kangana has a bigger challenge now to pull in crowds across India since her role as Congress leader and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi has to strike a chord in the Hindi heartland over south Indian viewers. “It will be the most challenging task for Kangana Ranaut to draw in openings and then prove that she is good at reprising real-life politicians with ease,” he concludes.
