Manikarnika Looks Like Out-Takes Of a Bhansali Product

Finally  it comes. The  trailer  of  the beleaguered historical Manikarnika  The  Queen Of Jhansi brings to us a  furious ferocious feral Kangana Ranaut who tells the Gora Log(as villainous as they come), “We  both want Jhansi. But you want to rule. I want to serve.”

Well, precisely.  The Rani Of Jhansi was passionately dedicated to her kingdom. I don’t see much of that dedication in the trailer. Much of  it is devoted to displaying its leading lady’s skills on horses and with swords. The trailer gives us an Epic Primer on ‘Kangana Rides The Horse’, ‘Kangana Swats The  Enemy,’   ‘Kangana Bays For Blood’, etc etc.

There is so much of  the talented  actress’ efforts to appear queenly, the trailer barely  offers a glimpse  of  the  impressive supporting cast , namely Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarmi,Suresh Oberoi and  others who flit by in this steamroller  view of a woman warrior’s  day-out binge. Threadbare thunder in a fancy teacup.

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Alarmingly and  annoyingly , the  film wears  a thick and heavy Sanjay Leela  Bhansalihangover. In the way the  camera zooms in and  pans  the  long stretches of the battle scenes  I was  taken back to Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastani. In fact  one of Kangana’s derringdo in a battle sequence  here she  gambols over her sipahis to strike was a move identical to RanveerSingh’s in Bajirao Mastani.

So is  Kangana’s Jhansi Ki Rani , Bajirao or Mastani or both?

It’s  a highly derivative world created  by people who seem to have the resources but not the vision. We could do with a  lot more  chutzpah when recreating such an important  chapter  from Indian history.

 It’s a not all  a wash-out , though.Ms Ranaut seems  to convey sufficient fire and elasticity. Her accent is  a downer, though. 

This is  the way the  trailer moves:  uplifting one  moment down to  being a disappointment  the  next.Let’s  hope the film is not as uneven in  tone.