The trailer for 'Thalaivi', which tells the life story of late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and former actress Jayalalithaa, was unveiled today. This comes close on the heels of its titular actor, Kangana Ranaut, winning the National Award for Best Actress for 'Panga' and 'Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi', both of which are Hindi films. Incidentally, KV Vijayendra Prasad, the 'Baahubali' writer of 'Thalaivi', was also one of the writers of 'Manikarnika'.

This Telugu-Tamil-Hindi film, tells the story of Jaya's rise in the world of cinema, her shifting equations with her mentor and legendary Tamil actor MGR, her eventual entry into politics and more. MGR is played by Arvind Swami, who is the film's second-most important character.

How Jaya's modesty was outraged by her political opponents in the Tamil Nadu Assembly seems to be a defining element of the film. The North-South linguistic divide is also highlighted through a scene. Fittingly, a number of scenes are also about the misogynistic thinking of men in her political life. "The superstar heroine, the queen of romance and the one who rose to power despite a patriarchal political system. The story we all know, the life story we don’t know," the makers said, describing the film.

Also featuring Nassar, Bhagyashree, Samuthrakani and Madhu Bala, the film is helmed by AL Vijay. With music by GV Prakash, its cinematography is by Vishal Vittal.

The biopic will hit the screens on April 23.