Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; October 31, 2018)

Kangana Ranaut’s dream of turning director has been realised sooner than she expected. mid-day has learnt that the actor, who re-shot major portions of Manikarnika - The Queen Of Jhansi and took the film to the finish line, will be sharing the director credit with Krish. Based on the warrior queen Rani Laxmibai, the historical will thus mark Ranaut’s directorial debut in feature films.

This comes weeks after the actor apparently insisted on forgoing the director credit in the teaser.

An insider reveals that producer Kamal Jain arrived at the decision after a meeting with the head honchos of Zee Studios on Monday. “Kangana helmed the 45-day schedule that included the re-shoot of several key parts of the drama. Not just that, after she returned from the US earlier this week, she was thoroughly involved in the editing process along with Rameshwar Bhagat. She is overseeing the VFX work, the music and the final cut as well, all of which are the director’s responsibilities. Kangana also cut short the first schedule of Panga to accommodate the post-production of Manikarnika.”

It may be recalled that although Krish had initially helmed the film, Ranaut took the baton after the makers apparently felt that several key plot points were missing from the director’s cut.

Jain confirmed the development, saying, “The film is finally looking exactly the way we had envisioned it. Kangana is a perfectionist who headlined every department. We are happy with what she has done and it would be unfair to not give her credit where it’s due.”

When asked if the development has been discussed with Krish, Jain said, “I wouldn’t want to comment on that. We are a team. I don’t see why anyone should have a problem with this. If someone has worked hard, they should be acknowledged.”