Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut is all set to return with the second installment of the Manikarnika franchise titled as The Manikarnika Returns: The Legend of Didda. 

On Thursday, Ranaut announced the film, which is touted to be bigger and better than the earlier film. The film will revolve around the life of Didda, Kashmir’s first woman ruler, who ruled for around five decades in the 10th and 11th centuries.

The actor has joined hands with Kamal Jain, who produced the first installment to take the real life women heroes franchise forward.The franchise is aimed to bring forgotten women heroes who have helped in forming the true identity of the country. The second installment will be mounted on international scale, according to the sources. 

The new script has already been locked in a meeting with Kamal held last week. Ranaut will star in the film in the lead role. She will play the Queen of Kashmir, the greatest warrior who defeated Mehmood Ghaznavi twice in battle despite being suffering from polio in one leg. 

The first part of franchise, Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, revolved around the life of Rani Lakshmi Bai. Ranaut played the main character, while Atul Kulkarni, Jisshu Sengupta, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub,  Ankita Lokhande, and Vaibhav Tatwawaadi were part of the supporting cast. The film was jointly directed by Ranaut and Radha Krishna Jagarlamudi.

Released on January 25, 2019, the film opened to positive reviews and had the highest first day collection for any female-centric film. Not only in India, the film performed well internationally. The film was released worldwide in three languages, Hindi, Telugu and Tamil.

Also Read: Badhaai Do: Bhumi Pednekar shares photos of herself and Rajkummar Rao as Sumi and Shardul from film’s set

Meanwhile, Ranaut has planned to complete her ongoing commitments before commencing the shoot of Manikarnika Returns. Her upcoming movies include Dhaakad, Thalaivi and Tejas. She was last seen in Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari’s Panga, co-starring Richa Chaddha and Jassie Gill. 

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]A few months back actor Sonu Sood had walked out of Manikarnika – The Queen of Jhansi owing to his professional commitment towards Simmba.

The actor says not being a part of such a great period drama will always bother him. Manikarnika – The Queen of Jhansi is an epic period drama which tells the story of the legendary queen ‘Rani Laxmi Bai’.

“Not being a part of Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi will always bother me. I will always miss that whole experience of shooting for the film because the film was very special to me,” Sonu told IANS in a recorded response.

The actor added, “Sometimes things are not meant to happen and I was not meant to be part of Manikarnika. I just want to wish the team all the best. I am sure everyone has worked really hard on the film and film has to do well for every individual associated with the film.”

Sood walked out of the period drama due to the clash of looks he required to sport in the two films. In Rohit Shetty’s Simmba, he is seen with a beard, but in Manikarnika – The Queen of Jhansi he was supposed to have a clean shaven look as a warrior.

When Kangana Ranaut stepped in to re-shoot some portions of Manikarnika, Sonu was unable to change his look owing to his commitment towards Simmba.

But Kangana Ranaut, the leading lady of Manikarnika…, claimed that Sonu left the movie as he “refused to work under a woman director”. He denied all these allegations last year. He was replaced by Zeeshan Ayyub in the film, which will release on January 25.

Asked if he is willing to work with Kangana, Sonu said, “She has always been a very close friend and I have no qualms against her. I would like to wish her all the best.”

What about working together?

“I don’t know whether we will be a part of a script which can justify both of us. As actors, we both are demanding. If something has to happen, I think God has to plan some really great script to make this happen.”

The 43-year-old Nagpur-born actor, who is popular for his well-chiselled body and fit physique, has featured in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu films.

Some projects to his credit are “Jodhaa Akbar”, “Singh Is Kinng”, “R… Rajkumar”, “Kung Fu Yoga”, “Dabangg” and “Happy New Year”.

At the moment, he is happy with the successful run of Simmba. Released on December 28, 2018, the action-comedy drama revolves around a corrupt police officer who eventually stands up against a rapist, and has minted over Rs 350 crore worldwide.

“I am very elated after the success of Simmba. The whole team works together and if the film becomes the biggest blockbuster of the year and then you can’t ask for anything else. We are all blessed. There are good wishes with us which are doing the trick,” Simmba actor said.

(Inputs from media reports)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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