Film Review

Asad Ali Sarkar

Scholar, M.Phil, Women’s Studies
Vidyasagar University

Name of Film:-Rudramadevi

Introduction:-

Rudramadevi is Indian film which shows the women’s position, status, capability, efficiency effort and
braveness of women in ancient Indian women. This film was based on the life of Rudrama Devi, one of the
prominent rulers of the Kakatiya dynasty, South India, and one of the ruling queens in India. Through the
character of Rudramadevi the director of this film shows not only the status of women in Ancient India but
also the status of women in the Ramayana and Mahabharata. But the allurement of some people related as
uncle of Rudramedevi want to kill Rudramadevi for conquering the total empire and they aggravate the
renters of the empire to Rudramadevi as she was a woman. But they fail to kill Rudramadevi and the renters
realize their mistake and accept Rudramadevi as a queen and give honour to the power and efficiency of
woman.

Date of Release: -9 October 2015

Language: - Telugu
Country: India
Running time: - 157 minutes
Director:-Gunasekhar
Producer: - Gunasekhar, Raagini Guna
Musician: - Ilaiyaraaja

Cast: -
Anushka Shetty as Rudrama Devi, Allu Arjun as Gona Ganna Reddy, Rana Daggubati as Chalukya
Veerabhadra, Vikramjeet Virk as Mahadeva Nayakudu, Krishnam Raju as Ganapati Devudu, Prakash Raj as
Shiva Devaiah, Suman as Hari Hara Devudu, Nithya Menen as Muktamba, Catherine Tresa as Anambika,
Adithya Menon as Murari Devudu, Prabha as Somamba, Ganapati Devudu's wife, Vinod Kumar as Ganna
Reddy's paternal uncle, Raja Ravindra as Anambika's father, Ulka Gupta as Younger Rudrama Devi, Roshan
Meka as Young Chalukya Veerabhadra, Aditi Chengappa as Ganapamba.

Plot: -

The story of the film is set in the ancient Kakatiya dynasty of Orugallu. The present location of Orugallu,
the capital, is Warangal, Telangana. The majestic kingdom is ruled by Raja Ganapati Devudu (Krishnam Raju)
who does not have any male successors. As time passes by, Ganapathi Devudu’s wife gives birth to a baby girl
Rudrama Devi (Anushka). Fearing that his long time enemies from the Devagiri dynasty would attack him after
knowing that he has no male successors, the king decides to announce Rudrama Devi as prince Rudra Devudu
to his empire. Rudrama Devi grows up like a warrior and suppresses her identity. Twist in the tale arises when
the entire Kakatiya dynasty comes to know that the young prince is actually a girl.
What will Rudra Devudu do now ? Will he declare himself as the royal Rudrama Devi and fight the
enemies? There are only two threats to Ganapati's rule. Murari Devudu (Adithya Menon) and Hari Hara
Devudu (Suman)), dukes of Kakatiya, are both obviously unsatisfied with Ganapati's reign and want to conquer
the throne. Emperor Singhana of the Devagiri Empire also wishes to conquer the Kakatiyas and name his
grandson and heir, Mahadeva, as king. Meanwhile Ganapati’s wife is pregnant. Everyone prays for a boy child,
because a prince can repel the Devagiri Empire and serve as a successor to the throne. A priest working for
Murari and Hari Hara predicts Ganapati’s baby will be a girl who will be the saviour of the kingdom. Ganapathi
Devudu’s wife gives birth to a baby girl Rudrama Devi (Anushka Shetty).
Then Rudrama is brought up and trained in prince’s manner. After a few years of training, Rudrama is go
back to Oragallu for her coronation as the crown prince. Chalukya Veerabhadra (Rana Daggubati), a
neighboring prince and Gona Ganna Reddy (Allu Arjun), another neighboring prince is two friends of
Rudramadevi. She sneaks out of the capital along with Chalukya to bathe in the river. She realizes her gender
when she sees an elegant statue of a beautiful woman. After seeing the boys disrobe, she realizes that her
body is different from theirs. She then runs to her mother and confusedly asks the reason for hiding her real
gender; her mother confesses the story and tells her the reason was to protect the kingdom. In front of her
parents and Shiva Devaiah, Rudrama swears to continue living as a boy until the kingdom's safety is assured.

Shiva Devaiah then announces Rudramadevi’s real identity and her to be the queen of the kingdom. The
people of Kakatiya, after knowing Ganapati has cheated them for many years, become angry and unsatisfied
and strongly object it. Rudramadevi is not accepted by the people to be their queen and is hence driven out of
the kingdom. Ganapati also loses the trust and support of his people because of this. Murari and Hari Hara
take this chance to launch a coup using the secret passageway. They then proclaim that they will rule Oragallu
in Mahadeva's name, while maintaining their own power. Before Murari and Hari Hara can kill Shiva Deviah,he
has a heart attack and dies.
It doesn't take too long for the people to realize that who deserves to rule the kingdom, as Murari and
Hari Hara start to prosecute them with higher tax rate and unprecedented cruelty and aristocracy soon after
they take power. The desperate people along with Shiva Devaiah (who faked his death) then go to
Rudramadevi to for help and apologise her. Rudramadevi then forms these people as an opposition army to
fight against her own kingdom’s army. Rudramadevi and her army meet Gona Ganna Reddy’s army on her
way, who is surprisingly not about to attack her, but to help her get her crown back. It is revealed that Gona,
who noticed Rudramadevi was a girl in their childhood, is not a traitor but a most loyal warrior of the kingdom.
After they join hands, their united army is greater and stronger than that of Murari and Hari Hara and beats
the latter. They also repel and defeat the Devagiri Empire. Rudramadevi then gets her crown back, marries
Chalukya and becomes the first queen in Indian history.

Review of the film

All characters in this film are portrayed in a real manner. Such as Anushka Shetty looks as queen
Rudrama Devi and performs her role with a lot of dedication. She has worked very hard for the war sequences
and looks extremely glamorous in the songs. Rana plays his part well and ably supports Anushka in her efforts.
Allu Arjun is undoubtedly the major highlight of this film. His character is powerful and helpful to
Rudrama Devi. Director Gunasekhar has designed his characters supremely well and Bunny does a awesome
job with his diction and rugged look. Prakash Raj and Krishnam Raju suit her roles aptly.
 First half of the film is pretty decent and showcases the growth of Rudrama Devi as the prince. Certain
visuals and the way Allu Arjun’s character has been introduced are superb.

Rudrama Devi constructed four water reservoirs named with their ancestors for cultivation after
ceasing the flow of river. She constructed the trench for protection her dynasty. She defended against Murari
Devudu, Hari Hara Devudu. She did not give up hope though she was driven out of her kingdom. She had
immense love for the subjects of the empire. She was a victim of conspiracy of her own folk. Though she took
disguise of a male person to protect her throne, she never surrendered to her enemy. She recovered her lost
kingdom with her strong will power and iron determination. Her valour and consistency of mind impressed the
spectators. She sustained a cordial relationship with Gona Ganna Reddy and Chalukya Veerabhadra. Her skill of
protecting the subjects is really praiseworthy. In this way she proved her capability and she is an empowered
woman in the true sense of the term.

Name of the film: - Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi

Introduction: -

Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi is a 2019 Indian epic biographical period drama film based on the
life of Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi. It was directed by Radha Krishna Jagarlamudi, popularly known as Krish and
actress Kangana Ranaut from a screenplay by K. V. Vijayendra Prasad and produced by Zee Studios, Kamal Jain,
and Nishant Pitti. The film stars Ranaut in the title role.

A special screening of the film was organized by Zee Entertainment for Ram Nath Kovind, the President
of India, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Cultural Centre on 18 January in presence of Kangana Ranaut and her team
before release of the film on 25 January 2019. After watching the film the President felicitated the artists and
crew of the film.
Date of Release: -9 October 2015
Language: - Hindi, Tamil and Telugu
Country: India
Director:-Krish
Cast: -
Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub as Sadashiv, Atul Kulkarni as Tatya Tope, Jisshu Sengupta as Gangadhar
Rao, Richard Keep as General Hugh Rose, Suresh Oberoi as Bajirao II,Danny Denzongpa as Ghulam Ghaus Khan,
Edward Sonnenblick as Captain Gordon, Vaibhav Tatwawaadi as Puran Singh, Ankita Lokhande as JhalkariBai,
Yash Tonk as Rao Tula Ram, R. Bhakti Klein as Lord Canning, Mishti as KashiBai, Unnati Davara as Mundar, Rajiv
Kachroo as Gul Mohamad, Nihar Pandya as Rao Saheb Peshwa, Taher Shabbir as Sangram Singh, Kulbhushan
Kharbanda as Dixit Ji, Manish Wadhwa as Moropant, Nalneesh Neel as Teer Singh.

Plot:-

Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi is a biographical account of how Rani Laxmibai waged a war
against the East India Company. It chronicles her journey from the place where she grew up, Bithoor to
becoming the Rani of Jhansi, and eventually turning into a warrior Queen.
Review:

Manikarnika starts with Amitabh Bachchan’s booming baritone where he throws light on how
the riches of India are fast being plundered by the British. Within seconds, we are led into the world of
Manikarnika through Kangana Ranaut’s imposing screen presence. Kangana captivates our attention in
every frame and grows from strength to strength as the film progresses. This is clearly one of her best
performances and the role itself lends ample scope for her to perform. From the tender, beautiful
moments of a young girl, to the heavy-duty action scenes from the battlefield soaked in blood and
sweat – Kangana effortlessly brings Manikarnika to life. The casualties, in turn, are the rest of the
actors, who don’t get a chance to shine just as well. Be it veterans like Danny Denzongpa (as Ghaus
Khan, also a prominent figure in history) and Kulbhushan Kharbanda or the debutantes like Ankita
Lokhande, who plays the role of Jhalkaribai. All supporting actors including Atul Kulkarni, who plays
Tatya Tope and Bengali actor Jisshu Sengupta have precious little to do. Needless to say, most of the
British characters come off as caricatures, except actor Richard Keep, who plays Sir Hugh Rose.
The narrative of the film directed by Kangana Ranaut and Krish, stays on course showing the
internal struggle within Jhansi’s royal family and unraveling important historical events during the
1800s. Some incidents like the Meerut Sepoy mutiny of 1857 are used as reference points, but the
focus remains on Jhansi’s rebellion against the British.

The film employs a lot of visual effects and most are easily noticeable, which hampers the
film’s realism. The scale on which the film is mounted gives it an air of grandeur; however, it lacks the
required opulence and finesse. While there is enough chest thumping jingoism throughout, dialogues
by Prasoon Joshi are quite impactful and praiseworthy. They succeed in arousing patriotic passion
within the audience without being too overbearing. The first half is spent in setting up the historical
premise, which takes way too long. The second half is where the real drama unfolds with scenes on the
battlefield, intense action sequences, bloody killings, escape, loss and triumph. Despite all the
moments that draw you into this epic drama, the length of the film slackens the narrative in parts.
The film admittedly uses many cinematic liberties and fictional detours to ensure there aren’t any dull
moments in this war drama. There is a strong thread of entertainment that binds it all together. The
music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy adds to the patriotic zeal of the movie.
Overall, Manikarnika is a well-made film that highlights Kangana’s prowess as an actor. For a first time
filmmaker, she undoubtedly shows spark and potential as a storyteller. The film based on an epic story
has undaunted spirit to keep you engaged in these pages of history.

The film exhibits the prowess of the women during colonial period. Manikarnika represents
valour of the women. Her name is officially changed to “Lakshmi Bai”. She struggle her level best to
protect the empire from the oppression of British Raj. Her leadership, power of organizing people, skill
in the battlefield against the British impress the audience beyond measure. She is such a brave warrior
who fights against the British Raj taking the risk of her own life. The way the director portrays the
character is really commendable. Kangna Rauat aptly performs the role of Manikarnika and draws the
attention of the audience.
Comparative study between Manikarnika and RudramaDevi:

After careful observation of these films a subtle comparative study can be made between
two legendary characters. Both the characters are sketched in the historic background. RudramaDevi
like a true ruler undertakes many positive steps like the construction of dams for the welfare of her
people in the empire. She is a good planner. But she is a victim of conspiracy of her own folk. Unlike
RudramaDevi, Monikarnika fights against the British Raj. She denies to bow her head to the British though her
husband does so. Her strong will power draws our attention. Like a true warrior she trains the soldiers and
forms an army of women to protect her empire from the clutch of the British. She plays a crucial role in Sepoy
Mutiny in 1857. Both the characters are women-centric and they have much relevance in the society to
empower the women.