Kangana Ranaut
Kangana RanautReuters

Kangana Ranaut, who is currently shooting for Vishal Bharadwaj's "Rangoon," which also has Shahid Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan in lead roles, will soon start preparing for Ketan Mehta's "Rani Laxmibai."

The film is about the strong headed and brave warrior Rani Laxmi Bai, who fought against the British rule. "Rani Laxmibai" is scheduled to hit the floors by October this year and Kangana will soon start taking rigorous training for horse riding and sword fighting. "I am working on a biopic which is based on Rani of Jhansi. We will start the shooting by this end of the year. I have just finished the script. We should know more about our history and culture and Rani Laxmibai is all about it," Ketan told Absolute India (March 25, Mumbai).

Refuting rumours of the "Tanu Weds Manu Returns" actress opting out of the film, Ketan said that the actress is very much part of the film and is quite excited to play the character. "Kangana is very much part of the film. She loved the story and is very charged up about the movie. Now that the script is ready, we will start pre-production of this film. These kinds of projects take time. We are going on floor by October. She will have gone through training; as has to learn horse riding and sword fighting. We will start with her training," he said.

Meanwhile, the "Queen" actress also has Hansal Mehta's "Simran," where she will be playing the role of a Gujarati girl living in California, lined up. "In Simran, Kangana is not only a Gujarati girl, but someone who has spent many years in the US. So her language would have to be a mixture of Gujarati and American," a source told Deccan Chronicle.

In other news, Kangana has been making headlines of late due to her legal battle with Hrithik Roshan. Hrithik, in his statement, has asked Kangana for a public apology for defaming him and trying to project that they had had a relationship. The actress, on the other hand, has responded to Hrithik's accusation with a 21-page notice of her own.