'I’m Just Manikarnika’s Slave, I’m Nothing But Her Devotee,' Says Kangana Ranaut

The teaser of Kangana Ranaut's 'Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi' dropped recently, and it has received a lot of positive reviews for its brilliance. The film is about the great Rani Lakshmibai and her fight and sacrifice for India's freedom. Kangana Ranaut is completely involved in every stage of the film and has even stepped into the directors shoes to finish the patchwork required since the director is tied up with some other commitments. 

Read | Kangana Ranaut On Manikarnika's Release Date: We Were Racing Against Time

Shooting for the war saga has not been an easy task for the three-time National Award winner. Kangana has suffered several mishaps. Kangana revealed that this project has been by far the most challenging one for her. 

 “It has been the most testing one. Everybody knows that I had a major head injury and got about 16 stitches on my forehead, which is like a permanent sword scar that I carry on my face now. Many people tell me that the scar complements me. Then, I had a ligament tear where I had a plaster for three weeks. Apart from these, I fell off the horse several times and have had other mishaps that haven’t confined me to bed. So, it’s been the most testing character in terms of the pain and struggle that she (Rani Lakshmibai) has faced in her life. I had to literally live through all of that and then bigger duties came on my shoulders. All of this together became adventurous.” 

Although there have been several war-based dramas in the last few years including Bajirao Mastani, Baahubali and Padmaavat, none of them were completely based on a female warrior. Manikarnika is top-lined by Kangana and Ankita Lokhande who plays Jhalkaribai. The 'Queen' actor revealed, “This is a film with one of the biggest budgets coming up next year. Nobody was interested in investing this kind of money in a female-centric flick. They (the industry folks) can make so many frivolous movies with budgets of  ₹100 crore. But when it comes to making great stories and especially women-centric biopics, the trend hasn’t caught up yet. We really have to give it to my studio (Zee Studios) who has been a norm breaker. It’s in line with the kind of unconventional choices that I make. Kudos to them for funding this kind of a film.”

Read | 'Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi' Teaser: Kangana Ranaut Looks Fierce As The Warrior Queen

Kangana Ranaut mentioned that she feels fortunate that she got to play Jhansi ki Rani on screen.

“So many people tried to make it before this. I personally feel that she chose me and I’m playing many parts on this film right now along with so much action and the other duties that have come to me. Sometimes, my friends ask me, ‘Don’t you get tired?’ and I say that I’m just Manikarnika’s slave. I’m nothing but her devotee, following her command. So right now, it’s not the time to think about myself or the comfortable life I had before this. It’s time to think about the film.”

Manikarnika is produced by Zee Studious and Kamal Jain which is slated to release on 25 Jan, 2019. The movie is directed by National Award Winner Radha Krishna Jagarlamudi fondly known as Krish. It also stars Ankita Lokhande, Jisshu Sengupta, Zeeshan Ayyub, Danny Dengzongpa, Atul Kulkarni and Taher Shabbir in pivotal roles.