The return of the Queen

Bold move

She has mostly played flawed characters but actor Kangana Ranaut says she is lucky to finally do a “heroic” role with her portrayal of Rani Laxmibai, the warrior queen of Jhansi.

Kangana will essay the titular role in ‘Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi’, to be directed by Krish. ‘Baahubali’ writer K Vijayendra Prasad has penned the screenplay for the movie.

The actor, who has been a part of women-oriented films such as ‘Queen’ and ‘Tanu Weds Manu’, says it is the most exciting character of her career.

“The way Vijendra sir has written it and conceived it, it’s very superhero-like. Usually, my characters are flawed and human in terms of their abilities. But this one is extraordinary,” Kangana said.

Rani Laxmibai’s presence in popular culture has been limited, except for filmmaker Sohrab Modi’s 1953 film ‘Jhansi Ki Rani’ and a TV series that aired between 2009 to 2011.

“When I signed this film my first thought was ‘How come there’s no film on ‘Jhansi ki Rani’ yet?’ I suddenly felt very fortunate that there isn’t any yet.”

“Because if there was even one film on Rani Laxmibai irrespective of its quality or content, then nobody would have repeated it. So I consider it a stroke of luck that I’m doing it,” she says.