Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 4, 2018)

Kangana Ranaut’s upcoming historical Manikarnika - The Queen of Jhansi has been undergoing a lot of changes ever since she took over the reins from director Krish, who had to move on to his next, the NTR biopic. After Zeeshan Ayyub (replaced Sonu Sood), TV actor Taher Shabbir (for new character Sangram Singh) and Saroj Khan (roped in to choreograph a song), Radha Bhatt is the newest addition to the film. The TV actress, who was recently seen as the antagonist in Zee’s daily soap, Zindagi Ki Mahek, has stepped in for Swati Semwal, who was playing the character of Parvati, wife of Maratha Army commander-in-chief Sadhashivrao Bhau. Sadhashivrao was originally played by Sonu, who walked out of the film citing scheduling conflict.

According to a source associated with the film, Edward Sonnenblick, who has previously featured in Kapil Sharma’s Firangi and Saif Ali Khan, Shahid Kapoor and Kangana-starrer Rangoon, has also been brought on board as the antagonist and recently began shooting. “Kangana is impressed with Radha and Edward’s performances. The film’s team was upset with Swati’s decision to leave. They have decided to share the scene she had shot for on social media after the film’s release so the audience can compare it with Radha’s performance,” the source added.

Radha, when contacted, told Mirror, “Yes I have joined the cast of Manikarnika and I feel lucky to be selected for the part. I was scared to shoot with Kangana but she is a lovely person. I had scenes with her and Zeeshan, who is an amazing actor too. Kangana was directing my scenes and explained things so well. I came on board on a short notice and have never played a Maharashtrian character before but Kangana eased out things for me.”