Bhagyashree, who made her debut opposite Salman Khan in Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), plays a pivotal part in the upcoming biopic on the late Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, Thalaivi (2020), starring Kangana Ranaut.
The film, directed by AL Vijay, also stars Arvind Swami as Jayalalithaa's mentor, the late actor-turned-chief minister M G Ramachandran aka MGR and Jisshu Sengupta as the actor Sobhan Babu.
It is not yet known which character Bhagyashree will be playing in the film. Speaking about her time on the project, she said, “I play a key role in the film and my character brings about a turning point in Thalaivi’s life. Kangana and I have a lot of scenes together, and the entire team loved our on-screen chemistry. It was fun working with her because she is a fantastic artiste who puts a lot into her performances. It was great to get back to the set after a very long time."
Bhagyashree recalled that she had first met Ranaut in 2006, when she had just started her career. "Even on the set of Thalaivi, she is extremely respectful and greets me as soon as she reaches the set,” she said of her co-star.
Thalaivi is produced by Vishnu Vardhan Induri and Shaailesh R Singh. The biopic was due to be released in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu on 26 June, but with theatres shut for the foreseeable future, it is likely to be pushed to a later date.