Unflustered about having to shorten his US trip to shoot with Kangana for Manikarnika, Sonu Sood says work is always priority
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; August 7, 2017)

A month-long vacation in the US to ring in Raksha Bandhan with his sisters had to be cut short for Sonu Sood, who had to accommodate his schedule to match that of Kangana Ranaut for Manikarnika - The Queen Of Jhansi. Shuffling his plans was essential, given that Sood, who reportedly plays a warrior named Sadashiv in the Rani Laxmibai biopic, features alongside Ranaut in a major chunk of the film.

Yet, Sood doesn't seem disheartened with the development while telling mid-day, "Work is always priority. My younger sister and I flew to the US to celebrate Raksha Bandhan with my elder sister, who resides there. But, we had to change the plan suddenly, and I had to return. I will miss my sisters, but they will send me the rakhis." He adds that the crew will commence filming in Hyderabad this week.

Ranaut, who is shooting for the film in Mumbai and Hyderabad over a tight schedule, wishes to complete filming for the major sequences before taking time off to promote her next, Hansal Mehta's Simran. Inevitably, the schedules were chalked out in such a manner that Sood had to adjust his plans.

Manikarnika pairs Sood with Ranaut for the third time after the duo previously collaborated on Shootout At Wadala (2013) and Ek Niranjan (2009). Talking about his "close friend", Sood says, "She is admirable, hard working, and an inspiration. Our films have performed well and I am certain that this one will be a blockbuster too."