Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; October 7, 2017)

Much like her personal life, Kangana Ranaut’s upcoming film, Manikarnika - The Queen Of Jhansi too has been mired in controversy over the last few weeks. With her last outing Simran having tanked at the box office, reports surfaced that the financers of the period drama had developed cold feet about supporting a Ranaut-starrer. Trade tattle also suggested that with the investors backing out, the shoot of the Krish-directed saga had been stalled.

However, producer Kamal Jain vehemently denies the rumours, saying that the project “is on track so far”. “This isn’t a flaky film that will have budgetary issues. It is produced by Zee Studios and me. Look at the names we have associated with the film – K V Vijayendra Prasad [story writer] and Prasoon Joshi [ lyricist]. If we had a budget constraint, how could we afford Nick Powell [Hollywood action choreographer]?”

Point out to him how the unit hasn’t shot a single scene since August, and Jain says that was always the plan. “After the first schedule, Kangana had to take a break for the promotions of Simran. It was decided earlier that she would extend the break by a few days because the last schedule of Manikarnika was exhausting for her. After all, she had had a major accident on the set,” he says, referring to the forehead injury Ranaut sustained while filming a sword-fighting scene. He added that the next schedule begins on October 11.

Proud of bringing the 19th century warrior queen’s story to the big screen, Jain says he is hurt by the rumours surrounding the ambitious project. “It’s disturbing to see people trying to pull down a film that they will be proud of when they see it. The film takes us back to our roots and heritage. Just because people have personal issues with a particular artiste, they try to attack her on the professional front.”