Thalaivi, the upcoming biopic of J Jayalalithaa- the late Tamil Nadu chief minister and general secretary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, ran into trouble after a lawyer on Friday wrote to the Election Commission of India (EC) seeking to restrain the display of any “publicity material” ahead of the Legislative Assembly polls in the state, Live Law tweeted.
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The lawyer sought directions from the EC to direct the makers and promoters along with the state’s chief electoral officer to “stop the display of any publicity material pertaining to” the film and to “take down” the same that is already uploaded on social media.
The lawyer also sought directions for the chief electoral officer to “not permit any roadshows or physical publicity programs in respect of the film” and added that they could pass any other order which the Commission seemed necessary.
The trailer of Thalaivi, starring Kangana Ranaut in the lead role, released on Tuesday. The film will release in theatres on April 23.
The trailer shows a glimpse of the incident that changed the political scenario of Tamil Nadu when exactly 32 years ago Jayalalithaa was “attacked on the floor of the legislative assembly”, “physically assaulted” and her saree was pulled, all in the presence of the then chief minister M Karunanidhi on March 25, 1989.
Ranaut visited Chennai on Tuesday for the trailer launch of Thalaivi.
Previously, in November 2020, the Madras High Court granted permission to Jayalalithaa’s niece Deepa to sue the makers of Thalaivi after she moved the high court claiming she was Jayalalithaa’s legal heir. Claiming that it would affect her family’s privacy, she had said that the filmmakers did not have the right to produce the film without her consent. She also alleged that the makers’ intentions were merely commercial and driven by monetary benefits, according to a report by The News Minute.
Directed by AL Vijay and produced by Vibri Media along with Karma Media and Entertainment, Thalaivi was simultaneously shot in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu under the same title. The film began shooting in November 2019 and was initially supposed to release in June 2020 but was halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic and resumed shooting in October 2020.