Manikarnika Movie Review
The Queen of Jhansi, co-directed by the warrior queen herself in conjunction with the director Krish Jagarlamudi with the aid of production by Zee Studios in association with Kamal Jain and Nishant Pitti. features the cinematography that is simply awe-inspiring. Right from the start, Amitabh Bachchan’s voiceover will give you chills of the movie-Lagaan.
In the first half of the movie, Rani Laxmibai’s character played by Kangna Ranaut is shown to be that of a ferocious, kind, fair, successor and independent woman. She shoots a tiger only to heal it and in turn saves the villager, she is seen hopping and jumping to mount an elephant and is undoubtedly the only one who can domesticate the uncontrollable horse, Badal. Needless to say, she does all that with great ease.
Turbocharged Kangna Ranaut starts giving speeches on patriotism with any hesitation. It also showcases terrible acts against the British Raj. Nothing new with the evil, revengeful and scheming British officers who make fun of people for not knowing English, require everyone to respect them when they enter and hang small girls while serving vengeance. All this is done while shooting off dialogues in the funniest Hindi accent you will ever hear. You will not be shocked while asking yourself this mind baffling question of as to - why do British officers in Bollywood films talk amongst each other in Hindi and once again you will not be astonished if you don’t receive an answer.
However, it is perplexing to witness contradictory ideas been narrated in the same movie applauding a woman’s bravery which is also looking down upon women add-ons. Because it is one of the scenes where- On one hand, Rani Laxmibai is depicting feminism and showing he ranger against British and on the other hand her husband, Maharaja Gangadhar Rao
Newalkar wears bangles while calling them handcuffs. It is unquestionable as to why this queen needs no man. Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi showcases a world where the woman enrages in war, while the men dance and indulge in marital practices.
Kangana has exhibited scenes where she is seen running across the backs of horses and elephant. All throughout the movie, the queen’s grasp of a rebel warrior is really inspiring. Ankita Lokhande, Atul Kulkarni, Suresh Oberoi, Vaibhav Tatwawaadi played important role in the movie. However, the budget constraints can be seen revolving with VFX not been utilized to its strongest point and is quite shaky at times. The screenplay too is in haywire, with the film jumping from one scene to another in a rather unsystematic manner.
Be it fighting the industry stalwarts or bigwigs, or taking over directional duties- she has truly outdone her ability to carry the film on her shoulders. Overall, the film has enough fire and desire to keep you glued to the screen.
Manikarnika Movie Review:Excellent
Manikarnika Movie Rating:4.2/5
Manikarnika Movie Performance:Too Good
Manikarnika Movie Cinematography: Good
Manikarnika Movie Music: Good