Kangana Ranaut and her new film Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi have been trending since its release not only for the box office reports but also for the controversy surrounding credits for the film's primary director. While Kangana's co-director Krish claims that she made extensive changes to the film, Ankita Lokhande recently said that she enjoyed being directed by Kangana Ranaut, reported news agency IANS. "As a director, she was fantastic. It was her debut as a director and she was directing a debutante. So, it was good," IANS quoted her as saying. Ankita Lokhande, who makes her Bollywood debut with the biopic, plays the role of Jhalkari Bai - Rani Laxmi Bai's chief commander - in the film.
"She has been disciplined and very talented at whatever she has done. I wish her all the best for everything she does in her life and I just know one thing, whatever she has done till now, she has made her own mark. I am sure she will make a mark for herself as a director too," Ankita Lokhande added.
Meanwhile, in several interviews, Krish claimed that when he left Manikarnika, most of the film was already complete but Kangana made changes even in the portions initially filmed under his direction and "did her own thing with Sonu Sood's role just to satisfy her ego". "Once I finished, she promised to do some patchwork completely under my guidance. She promised she'd shoot for 4-5 days extra and send me all details of the shooting. No such thing happened," Krish told IANS in an interview.
After Krish left Manikarnika for the NTR biopic, Kangana Ranaut took over as the director for the remaining bits, following which, she was credited as the primary director when the film released in theatres and even in the trailer, ahead of that.
After Krish opened up about his disapproval for the distribution of direction credits, Kangana's sister Rangoli Chandel jumped to the actress' defence in a tweet, a part of which read: "Chalo man liya you directed the whole film. Now, please calm down. Still Kangana is the leading face of the film."
@DirKrish chalo man liya you directed the whole film now please calm down, still Kangana is the leading face of the film let her enjoy this moment of her success and great appreciation, please leave her alone, we all believe you now please take a seat https://t.co/rInLkrHreO
— Rangoli Chandel (@Rangoli_A) January 28, 2019
Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi hit screens last Friday and has collected over Rs 42 crore at the box office.
(With IANS inputs)
