Kangana Ranaut wields swords, arrows and guns in the teaser for Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, which was released on Tuesday to coincide with Gandhi Jayanti. The teaser for the Rani Laxmibai biopic shows several avatars of Ranaut as the warrior-queen, but focuses most of its attention to her prowess on the battlefield. “When everyone was succumbing to violence and oppression, from the womb of India’s soil rose Manikarnika,” says Amitabh Bachchan’s voiceover.
The film, directed by Krish, will trace the life of the 19th-century queen and her role in the 1857 revolt against British rule. The trailer for Manikarnika is expected to be released on November 19, which is Rani Laxmibai’s birth anniversary. The film will open in theatres on January 25, 2019.
Produced by Zee Studios and Kamal Jain, Manikarnika also stars Jishu Sengupta, Suresh Oberoi, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni, and Ankita Lokhande. The film has been scripted by Baahubali writer KV Vijayendra Prasad and has music by Shankar Ehsaan Loy.
Krish has previously directed several Telugu films including Gamyam (2008), Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum (2012) and Kanche (2015). His first Hindi film was Gabbar Is Back (2015).