Kangana Ranaut works hard for Laxmibai role

Kangana Ranaut, who launched the first poster of Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, at a grand event held at Varanasi Ghat, says she will soon learn sword fighting for the project.

“I will start shooting for sword fighting (sequences) soon, so I will be learning that. Now, I’m learning horse riding,” she announced. “It’s a challenging film. Vijayendra Prasad (writer) is a legend, and his screen writing is exceptional. I’m so fortunate to work with him. He said Manikarnika is no less than Baahubali, and that makes me feel so good.” The movie is based on the life of Rani Laxmibai, and Kangana is making sure she fits the titular role well.

“It’s a real character from the 19th century, and that’s a fantastic world,” Kangana said, while interacting with the media. She added, “We will give an amazing story with a lot of drama. We’re keeping it very authentic, and keeping that authenticity in mind, we will have a very dramatic and poetic portrayal of her.”

The actress also took a dip of faith in the holy river Ganga, before the launch of the poster.

“I’m so blessed to be here,” she said. “With the blessings of Lord Shiva, we have launched it here. After coming on-board for this project, I feel like I’ve achieved something very big in my life. I feel that Rani of Jhansi is very relatable for women like us. Life without respect was equivalent to death for her.”

And while Kangana is doing her share of women-centric movies, she also believes she’s the only actress doing funny roles.

Talking about her upcoming movie, Simran, she says, “Simran is a comedy film, and not a biopic. After Sridevi, I’m the only actress who is actually doing funny roles, whether it’s Datto or anything else. There’s a quirk in all my characters, and unfortunately, we don’t have any scope for female comedians. But Raju Hirani sir had mentioned making a film on a stand-up comedian. At some point, I will direct a film, and I will direct a comedy film.”