Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language epic historical drama film based on the life of Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi. It is directed by Krish Jagarlamudi and Kangana Ranaut from a screenplay written by V. Vijayendra Prasad. Produced by Zee Studios, the film stars Ranaut in the title role.
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi was released on 3700 screens in 50 countries worldwide on 25 January 2019. The film performed moderately well internationally and in India in its theatrical run. The film holds the record for the highest opening weekend collections for a female-driven film in India. The film also became the highest Indian opener in Japan in January 2020. It is one of the highest grossing women-centric films in India.
The film opened to a positive critical response. It was selected for the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival. Ranaut's portrayal of Rani Lakshmi Bai garnered widespread critical acclaim winning her the National Film Award for Best Actress at the 67th National Film Awards.
Plot
In 1828, Manikarnika is born in the ghats of Varanasi. She is raised by her father, Moropanth, and Peshwa Bajirao II in Bithoor. She is a favourite of the Peshwa, and he has brought her up with a lot of love. One day, Dixit Ji of Jhansi spots her facing a ferocious tiger fearlessly. Impressed, he asks the Peshwa for her hand in marriage to the Maharaja of the Maratha-ruled princely state of Jhansi, Gangadhar Rao. Dixit Ji is aware that the British are eyeing Jhansi and want to annex the kingdom. He realises that her brave persona would play a crucial role in giving a tough fight to the British. The marriage takes place, and as per the tradition, the king gives her a new name – 'Lakshmi Bai'. All these developments upset Gangadhar's brother Sadashiv Rao. He is friendly with the British and wants to usurp the throne.
Laxmibai, after a few years, gives birth to Damodar, and she is unable to contain her happiness. Her joy, however, is short-lived as Sadashiv surreptitiously poisons Damodar. Gangadhar, at the same time, falls ill too. Knowing that his death is near, he and Laxmibai decide to adopt a son who will rule Jhansi in the future. Much to Sadashiv's dismay, his son is not adopted, and instead, ‘Anand Rao’, the son of a courtier, is named the heir. He was renamed as Laxmibai instinctively calls him Damodar Rao. Gangadhar passes away, and the British attempt to annex the throne. However, Laxmibai surprises everyone as she decides to take over the reins. She proclaims herself as the queen of Jhansi and challenges the British openly. When the British force her to vacate the palace, she walks gracefully into the village and is welcomed and greeted by a massive parade of villagers led by Jhalkaribai. She continues to live among the civilians quietly strategizing to reclaim the throne. The rebellions from the Indian Rebellion of 1857 reach Jhansi, where the revolutionaries led by Sangram Singh kill General Gordon and his officers. They further attempt to kill their children and wives, but their attempts are thwarted by Laxmibai. She plans to regain the throne of Jhansi while Sangram Singh and his men join the rebellion in Delhi. The East India Company requests the British government to appoint Sir Hugh Rose to salvage the situation and remove Laxmibai from the throne permanently.
Knowing very well that she will soon be attacked again, Laxmibai begins training her own army, especially women, to fight. Laxmibai assembles an army of 20,000 troops, and Pathans join her later in 1858. During the siege of Jhansi, Laxmibai valiantly steps onto the battlefield to destroy the British cannons strategically placed in front of a temple. The strong fort walls keep Laxmibai and her army steady until Sadashiv Rao divulges secrets about the fort to the British, who finally break the siege and manage to storm the keep, resulting in the death of ‘Gaus-Baba’. Jhalkaribai, despite discovering that she is pregnant, acts as a decoy pretending to be the queen due to her striking resemblance to Laxmibai. She manages to distract the British army so that Laxmibai and Damodar can escape the castle safely. Jhalkaribai sacrifices herself in a major gunpowder explosion, killing numerous British officers along with her.
Laxmibai escapes to Kalpi to reunite with Tatya Tope and other allies. She captures the princely state of Gwalior and motivates the troops to participate in the war. With a heavy heart, Laxmibai leaves Damodar and leads an attack on the British. Laxmibai bravely sets out to attack the huge British army even though she faces a certain defeat. Laxmibai gets shot by one of the British soldiers, and while taking her last breath, she looks at Hugh Rose and immolates herself in a fire to avoid being captured and humiliated by the British. After Laxmibai's death, Jhansi was surrendered to the British Government in 1860 on behalf of Damodar Rao. Damodar Rao survived but lived a life suffering from prolonged illness and dire poverty, dying at the age of 58 in 1903. General Hugh Rose wrote about Rani Laxmibai's bravery and courage in his autobiography that "She was the most dangerous of all rebel leaders, best and bravest of all, the only man among mutineers".
Cast Kangana Ranaut as Rani Lakshmi Bai (Manikarnika "Manu") Jisshu Sengupta as Gangadhar Rao, Laxmibai's husband Atul Kulkarni as Tatya Tope Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub as Sadashiv Rao, Lakshmibai's brother-in-law Danny Denzongpa as Ghulam Ghaus Khan Richard Keep as General Hugh Rose Suresh Oberoi as Baji Rao II Anil George as Pir Ali Edward Sonnenblick as Captain Gordon Vaibhav Tatwawadi as Puran Singh Ankita Lokhande as Jhalkaribai Yash Tonk as Rao Tula Ram R. Bhakti Klein as Lord Canning Katelyn Rodrigues as Little Manikarnika Mishti Chakraborty as KashiBai Priya Gamre as Sundar Unnati Davara as Mundar Suparna Marwah as Rajamata Ravi Prakash as Scindia King of Gwalior Ravi Pandey as Bakshish Ali Rajiv Kachroo as Gul Mohamad Nihar Pandya as Rao Saheb Peshwa Taher Shabbir as Sangram Singh (as Tahir Mithaiwala) Kulbhushan Kharbanda as Dixit Ji Manish Wadhwa as Moropant Nalneesh Neel as Teer Singh Vikram Kochhar
Production The outdoor locations of the film were Jaipur, Jodhpur, Alsisar (Jhunjhunu) & Bikaner in Rajasthan and Narmada Ghat, Ahilya Fort in Madhya Pradesh. Besides these, the film was shot at studios in Hyderabad and Mumbai.
Sukant Panigrahy, Sriram Iyengar, and Sujeet Sawant were hired as the production designers of the film. Sujeet and Sriram have also done production designing for Bajirao Mastani (2015).
Principal photography was completed in October 2018. By that time, only 10 days of filming work remained. Krish intended to do that minimal patchwork and then move on to direct N. T. R.. However, Sonu Sood was replaced by Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, forcing the team to reshoot all of Sood's scenes. As Krish was busy directing N. T. R., Ranaut took over, making her directorial debut. Both Krish and Ranaut received joint directorial credit.
Soundtrack
The film's soundtrack is composed by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy and lyrics written by Prasoon Joshi. The film's score was composed by Sanchit Balhara and Ankit Balhara.
Hindi Track listing
Tamil Track listing
Telugu Track listing
Marketing
The first poster was released on 15 August 2018. Theatrical posters of the film were released in 2 languages for simultaneous release of the film in Tamil and Telugu with Hindi version on 4 January 2019.
Its official music launch took place on 9 January. The song video from Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi titled "Vijayi Bhava" was made available for public viewing on the same day. Short video teasers of dialogues and prominent scenes of the film were posted on the Facebook page of Zee Studios for viewers.
Release
The film is certified U/A (Parental Guidance for children below the age of 12 years) by CBFC of India, and the film was released on 25 January 2019. Its runtime is 148 minutes. Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi was released on 3700 screens in 50 countries worldwide in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu on 25 January 2019. While the original was in Hindi, the Tamil and the Telugu versions were dubbed from the Hindi version.
A special screening of the film was organised by Zee Entertainment for Ram Nath Kovind, the President of India, at Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre on 18 January in the presence of Kangana Ranaut and her team before the release of the film on 25 January 2019. After watching the film, the President felicitated the cast and crew of the film.
The film was selected for the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival. The film was also screened at the Kashi Indian International Film Festival, Itanagar International Film Festival, and at the Indian embassy, Lebanon under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav event.
Critical reception
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi received mixed reviews from critics, who criticised the film's length; however, Ranaut's performance received widespread critical acclaim.
India
Anupama Chopra of Film Companion gave the film a rating of 3/5 and stated, "Manikarnika reveals Ranaut as an artist with boundless ambition". Calling Ranaut's performance in the film "fiery," she wrote, "Ranaut is on fire as the iconic Rani Lakshmi Bai. Her spine is erect, her eyes are unblinking, and she seems propelled by some otherworldly power. She’s riding horses, wielding swords, leaping on elephants, and making it all look plausible. When she looks into the camera and insists on dying for the country, you want to follow her into battle". Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN gave the film a rating of 3/5 and wrote, "This is a deliberately simplistic film; an old-fashioned patriotic saga told in the broadest of strokes, and with full nationalist fervor". Praising Ranaut's performance, he further wrote, "Ranaut’s extraordinary performance is the film’s biggest strength. She is unwavering in her portrayal of Rani Lakshmibai; There’s a hard-to-miss intensity in her eyes, and tenacity in her voice. She commands the screen with a fiery, arresting presence, never letting your attention wander away from her". Namrata Joshi of The Hindu wrote, "Ranaut doesn’t just share the director’s credit; she overshadows all of the cast, including veterans like Danny Denzongpa and consummate performers like Atul Kulkarni and Mohammad Zeeshan Ayub. It’s evident that Ranaut has put her all into the film and she's present in practically every frame". Raja Sen of Hindustan Times gave the film a rating of 3/5 and wrote, "Ranaut’s film is an arrow against cinema’s patriarchy, a broadside against the boys". He called Ranaut a "one-woman army" and praised her performance by writing, "Ranaut is glorious, and she makes you believe it. She wears a dazzling smile like a cloak of confidence, and slices down enemy soldiers with a fury. We know what this actress is capable of, and she gives even the weaker written parts of this film her all".