Looks like the road to success for Kangana Ranaut's Manikarnika will not be a smooth one.
While the actress is ecstatic about bringing alive the story of the warrior queen Laxmibai of Jhansi, it has been revealed that another film on the same subject is gearing up for release, and that too ahead of Manikarnika.
Swords And Sceptres is an Indo-British film directed by Swati Bhise and is eyeing a March release. On the other hand, Kangana's film is currently on the last leg of shooting and is slated to hit theatres on April 27.
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A source from the team of Swords And Sceptres, which stars Rupert Everett and Derek Jacobi, told Mid-Day: "The shoot wrapped up in December and the film is currently in post-production in London. The film's war sequences are mounted on a large scale and need a fair amount of visual-effects work. The VFX team has been given a deadline of February-end. If they meet the deadline, the movie will release before Kangana's biopic."
Director Swati Bhise, however, is unperturbed with another biopic being made on the same subject. "I'm aware that another biopic is being made on the queen of Jhansi, which has a big Bollywood star featuring in it. But there's enough room for more movies on her."
It now remains to be seen if and how Kangana's movie will be affected by the international project.
The news of the Indo-British film getting released before Manikarnika will surely disappoint the actress and her fans, given that the Queen actress is mounting quite an ambitious project and is leaving no stone unturned to make the period drama a big hit in her career.
Manikarnika is based on the life of Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi and her war against the British East India Company during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Baahubali scriptwriter KV Vijayendra Prasad has penned the story for the movie, which is being directed by Krish and produced by Zee Studios in association with Kamal Jain.
Kangana essays the lead role of Rani Laxmibai, while Sonu Sood essays the male lead. Suresh Oberoi, Atul Kulkarni, Vaibhav Tatwawaadi, Ankita Lokhande, Richard Keep, Nihar Pandya and Amit Behl will be seen in the supporting cast of the movie.
