Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi — Ankita Lokhande's look as Jhalkari Bai revealed

Television actress Ankita Lokhande will make her Bollywood debut with Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi , starring Kangana Ranaut in the lead. Lokhande’s look as Jhalkari Bai in the upcoming period drama was revealed on 13 December.

  According to Mumbai Mirror, Jhalkari bai was a soldier in Rani Laxmi bai’s army, who eventually rose to the position of an advisor to the queen. In an interview with  Mirror, the actress opened up about her role, “I’d read about Rani Laxmibai in history textbooks, but when I was offered the role of Jhalkari bai, I realised I knew nothing about her. I was excited by Krish’s (director) narration, she was a Dalit hero and is still being worshipped by them. In fact, there are many statues of her in Madhya Pradesh. So, when I got the opportunity to portray someone not many know about, I was kicked about it.” She also shared that she trained in horse riding and swordsmanship for 30 to 35 days. Manikarnika will focus on Rani Laxmibai’s fight against British colonisers for the rightful independence of her country and land. The film also stars Jisshu Sengupta and Atul Kulkarni. Sonu Sood was initially roped in to essay the role of Sadashiv Narayan Rao, but following his exit, Zeeshan Ayyub will now play the part. The film's trailer will be unveiled on 18 December. It will release in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu on 25 January, 2019.