Next, Kangana Ranaut to play Indira Gandhi in political drama

After playing the late Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa in the upcoming biopic Thalaivi (2021), Kangana Ranaut is set to play another iconic female politician from India. The actress has now signed on to play the late prime minister Indira Gandhi in a political drama directed by Sai Kabir. The film will be backed by the actress's own home production banner, Manikarnika Films.

In a statement, the actress said, "Yes, we are working on the project, and the script is in the final stages. It is not a biopic of Indira Gandhi. It is a grand period film. To be precise, it is a political drama that will help my generation to understand [the] socio-political landscape of current India."

Ranaut has been gaining prominence with her political statements over the past year or so and, incidentally, has spoken often against Indira Gandhi's political party, the Indian National Congress.

Reports suggest that the film will be a dramatic rendition of some key events in Gandhi's tenure as prime minister, including the Emergency in 1975-77 and Operation Blue Star in 1984.

Ranaut is already playing one deceased political leader in the J Jayalalithaa biopic Thalaivi. Directed by AL Vijay, the film has been in production since 2019. The actress also has films like Dhaakad and Tejas lined up for release later this year.

In her statement, Ranaut called Indira Gandhi 'the most iconic leader we have had in the history of Indian politics'. The makers have not yet revealed any of the other cast members. It is expected that the film will have an ensemble cast to play other key characters like Sanjay Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Morarji Desai, Jayaprakash Narain, George Fernandes and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, to name only a few.

In addition, Ranaut recently announced a biopic on the legendary Kashmiri queen Didda, as a sequel to her 2019 film, Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi.