Do you know how frustrating it is to see a preview then go to the movie and discover that there was a bait and switch? You sign up for the Predator and get a little smart boy. Fine. You sign up for a little black boy with alien tech then they give a loser older brother. With Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, I signed up for an Indian woman kicking British soldiers’ ass, and I got an Indian woman kicking British soldiers’ ass and more.
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi is two hours twenty-eight minutes long, but if it were not for my bladder, I would not have noticed. It is extremely well paced, and I think that the last hour were just well choreographed battles and hand to hand combat. Honestly I didn’t even need the back story to get there so it could have been shorter, but it is reasonable to expect one. The movie follows the titular character, who as a young, single woman reminded me of a mashup of the heroine of Brave and Belle from Beauty and the Beast, as she leaves her home to the kingdom of Jhansi to marry their Maharaja in the Jhansi in that kingdom’s desperation to inject a backbone into their leader before it is too late. The kingdom of Jhansi is not accustomed to a woman of her stature who is unwilling to demure to the British or willing to get to know the people so there is some tension whether or not she will be herself or conform and whether or not they will accept her. Spoiler alert: she’s got to be her, and they love it except for a couple of haters! People keep testing her until she is done being merciful and decides to show them that she doesn’t have to be an Amazon to fight battalions of men single-handedly while donning some pearls.
Because I came to get my vitamin of kickass women, I loved Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, but even I have to admit that the story is fairly two dimensional although I suppose that the journey that she goes from is theoretical, happy warrior young lady who never hurt anybody to sad, determined, battle tested woman with no hesitation when she finally decides to kill. It is definitely Indian propaganda with calls of sacrificing the self for the good of the future state of India with one suicide bombing sequence that made me feel a skosh uncomfortable, but it is fairly easy to get behind them when the British make good villains though their acting is probably the weakest. Honestly the filmmakers showed more restraint than Mary Queen of Scots by leaving low lying fruit on the ground by not comparing the titular heroine with Queen Victoria because it would have been no contest.
Also how can you not like propaganda that promotes gender equality and values women defying traditional gender roles or at least tweaking them to meet the exigencies of the day? Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi does not just feature the Queen kicking ass, but scores of women follow in her footsteps, which makes for some exciting battle scenes with great sword work, stunts and probably wire work. The movie definitely walks a tricky tightrope by casting her defiance of convention as obedience to her husband as a wife and out of motherly devotion, not solely as fulfillment of her personal desire and personality. Also there is one scene in which a little girl is a widow, and she addresses the widow issue, not the fact that the baby has no business being married except in her imagination while playing with other kids. Also while I appreciated the queen’s final act to thwart the British’s plans, I was disturbed that it echoed an abusive practice that some people are forced to do at certain turning points in another’s life. The women are not sexualized, but are dressed in only a slight variation from how they would dress on a daily basis. Marnikarnika wears a simple leather halter over her under and over shirt, and it is not leather in the way that we think of it, just armor that is not metal.
If you enjoy Indian movies for dance sequences and humor, then the first part of Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi will not disappoint. The sets are very colorful and majestic but occasionally I could discern what was blue screen and what was real if I examined the sets too closely. The best combo of humor and dance is one delightful sequence when she decides to visit a cute farmer couple who recently were victims of British cultural insensitivity and physical bullying, and they do not know how to interact with her, but she shows them that she knows how to do more than spout facts and kick ass. Everybody can get down.
Kangana Ranaut, who plays the main character and codirected Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, can give a really good mean mug and had me rooting for her once she got to business. It appears that this movie is her first feature film debut, and she should be proud that she was able to accomplish so much behind and in front of the camera. What a treat to have a woman who can effectively direct and execute an action film. The film may lack narrative texture, but it more than makes up for it with pleasing principles and brutal action. Once Ranaut gets covered in blood, she stays covered in blood for some time.
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi is an action packed epic history lesson that values dignity over riches, conquers the hearts and minds of the people before lifting a finger and ultimately is willing to fight fire with fire when tested by outsiders who do not keep their promises. If Ranaut decided to make and star in more action movies, she can have my money.