There were reports last week stating actress Kangana Ranaut has replaced Krish as the director of Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi. The actress’s spokesperson informed us last week that she has only temporarily taken over as the director as Krish needed a break to helm the NTR biopic.
In an statement to IANS, a news agency, producer Kamal Jain confirmed that Ranaut will be shooting only a few additional scenes. “The additional shoot of the film is presently under way at ND Studios at Karjat, near Mumbai. After the last schedule was over, we saw the line-up of the film. On seeing it, we decided that apart from the patchwork, we also needed a few additional scenes,” he said.
“Once the scenes were written, we approached Kangana for additional dates. But Krish had moved on to his next project by then. Given how driven and creatively involved Kangana has been on this project since its inception, we realised she would be the best person to take over the mantle,” he added.
Jain had also stated that the actress hasn’t ‘hijacked’ the project. “There is no hijacking of the project. Whatever decisions are being taken are with the full support of the producer and the studio,” he clarified.
However, now a source close to the actress says that she has been asked to take over as the director of the film as the producers are not happy with Krish’s work.
“Basically, when the producers saw the rough cut they were upset with Krish and were not happy. Hence, Kangana was asked to take over. From a logical point of view, if a director is under contract and is being paid by the producers then he has to re-shoot if there are any changes too. But they chose to let him go and not insist on him taking the reigns again because they weren’t happy. They then asked Kangana to step in. Only 20-30% of what Krish shot is being retained and the other portions, that is 60%, are being re-shot,” said the source.
This move has increased the budget of the film. “The initial budget was around Rs60 crore but the producers are ready to give in Rs20 crore more for the re-shoot as they trust Kangana,” the source added.
According to the source, the project would have been shelved if Ranaut hadn't agreed to take over. “Kangana had an option to either direct or let the film be shelved. She agreed and decided to lead the unit. Producers had full liberty to get a new director on board but they didn’t. The action director, Nick Powell is called back to reshoot certain portions too,” the source informed.