Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; April 18, 2018)

Had the shoot of Manikarnika - The Queen of Jhansi happened on schedule, the period drama, starring Kangana Ranaut in the title role, would have opened on April 27, which falls next week.

However, BT now has it on good authority that the film, directed by Krrish, will release on August 15, thus resulting in a clash with Akshay Kumar’s Gold, helmed by Reema Kagti. While Manikarnika... is based on the warrior queen of Jhansi, Gold revolves around one of India’s glorious moments at the Olympics.

Manikarnika... was initially expected to clash with Rajinikanth and Akshay Kumar’s 2.0 and Nikkhil Advani’s Bazaar, starring Saif Ali Khan, which have also been pushed ahead of their April 27 release date. According to a source, the period drama’s release has been delayed, because its shooting schedule took a beating around December. Kangana got injured while performing an action sequence and was advised bed rest for two-three weeks, which impacted the shoot. Although the VFX work on the project commenced in December, it was tough to meet its release deadline.

“Apart from technical reasons, the content of the film, which revolves around the first war of Indian independence, makes it viable for an August 15 release. Given that it’s a long weekend, both Gold and Manikarnika... can sail through, which is the reason the producers have chosen to bring out the film then,” says a source close to the project.

BT tried to contact the film’s producer Kamal Jain, but he remained unavailable till the time we went to press.