Actor Simi Garewal on Friday praised Kangana Ranaut's portrayal of J Jayalalithaa in Thalaivii. Simi had interviewed Jayalalithaa in 1999 on her chat show, where the late politician and film legend had revealed she wanted Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to play her on-screen.

"Although I do not support Kangana Ranaut's radical comments, I do support her acting talent. In Thalaivii she gives it her heart and soul! Jaya-ji wanted Aishwarya (Rai) to play her... my hunch is JJ wud have approved of Kangana's portrayal. As for Arvind Swami, he is MGR reincarnate," Simi tweeted.

Replying to a comment about Arvind's performance, Simi added, "You forget he is Arvind Swamy! You believe he REALLY is MGR! But they left out JJ's childhood..I wish they hadn't. It wud have had a stronger impact in the story of Jayalalithaa.. but that's only my opinion.."

Incidentally, Aishwarya had portrayed a character based on Jayalalithaa in Iruvar (1997). The film was directed by Mani Ratnam and also starred Mohanlal and Prakash Raj.