Kangana Ranaut to share co-director credit with Krish for Manikarnika

Kangana Ranaut’s name will be credited as co-director of Manikarnika along with Krish, the producer of the film has said. This will mark her debut as a director.

After refusing credit in the teaser of Manikarnika, the ambitious biopic of Laxmi Bai, queen of Jhansi, Kangana Ranaut will be credited as the film’s co-director, along with original helmer Krish. According to a report in Mid Day, producer Kamal Jain took a call after a meeting with the head honchos of Zee Studios on Monday.

According to the makers, Kangana Ranaut put in 45 days for patchwork and reshoot of the film.

Quoting an insider, Mid Day said: “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 the teaser of the biopic, which was unveiled on October 2 (Gandhi Jayanti), did not identify Kangana as the film’s co-director. Reports had suggested that Kangana was offered the opportunity to claim credit, but had refused to do so.

Krish left the project midway after the makers were not content with some crucial segments of the shoot as they felt some plot points were missing, the report said. He soon moved on to his other big project, the Telugu language NTR biopic and passed the baton on to Kangana.

Confirming the development, Kamal told Mid Day that the final product is looking exactly the way the makers had envisioned it. “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.”

Manikarnika is expected to chronicle the life of Laxmi Bai, her succession issues and her final battle against the British during the Revolt of 1857.

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