Manikarnika The Queen of Jhansi: Kangana Ranaut to unveil Rani Laxmibai film’s 20-feet poster in Varanasi

Kangana Ranaut will be seen as Rani Laxmibai in Manikarnika - The Queen of Jhansi.

From prepping up for Ketan Mehta’s biopic of Rani Laxmibai to moving on to Telugu director Krish’s version of the story, penned by KV Vijayendra Prasad (of Baahubali fame), actor Kangana Ranaut has already brought enough drama to the big screen adaptation of the warrior queen’s life. Now, that the movie, titled Manikarnika- The Queen of Jhansi, has finally begun rolling, Kangana, whose last outing Rangoon was a box office dud, wants to do everything that brings attention on her next film in the right way possible.

After releasing her look from the movie, the actor is now set to unveil its poster, which is said to be 20-feet long, at a press meet in Varanasi. The event is scheduled to take place on May 4. Rani Laxmibai, whose birth name was Manikarnika, was born in Varanasi in 1828 to a Marathi-Brahmin family, hence the makers thought it’s befitting to choose the city on the banks of Ganges to launch its poster.

Kangana will also be seen performing the famous Ganga aarti with the film’s team. This is Krish’s second Hindi film after Akshay Kumar-starrer Gabbar Is Back, in 2015.  The dialogues and lyrics for Manikarnika – The Queen of Jhansi have been penned by Prasoon Joshi.

Two years ago, Ketan Mehta announced the biopic and Kangana had even began gearing up for it. Her pictures during horse riding training also did the rounds of internet, suggesting that the preparations were in full swing. Apparently, the actor and the director had a fallout over the latter’s vision for the film. “Ketan was insistent that his movie be made in English for an international audience, like Gurinder Chadha’s The Viceroy House, but those working on the film felt it won’t go with the ethos of the story,” a source was quoted as saying by a leading daily. This film was co-penned by Kangana and a British writer. Ketan had also got international crew on board for it. “The actress and the filmmaker couldn’t find common ground on the language factor, leaving the project in a limbo,” the insider added.