Monday, February 11, 2019

MANIKARNIKA.... OR ...RANI LAKSHMI BAI OF JHANSI (1828-1858)

                                                                      



         
MANIKARNIKA.... OR ...RANI LAKSHMI BAI OF JHANSI (1828-1858)


"Jaya Jaya Hey Mahishasur-mardini,
Ramya Kapardini Shaila Suthe"



( O the Destroyer of Demon Mahishasura, Victory to you.
Victory to You, Who Shines with Beautiful Locks of Hair ,
Victory to you who is the Daughter of the Mountains.)


Manikarnika Tambe, a daring girl , born in a Maharashtrian Brahmin family residing at Varanasi , became Rani Lakshmi Bai of after her marriage with Jhansi Naresh Gangadhar Rao Newalker .

In the movie Manikarnika, Riding Badal her thunder like horse , Under the loud roar of sanskrit shlokas from Mahishasur-mardini stotram ,She charges upon the Firangi Army (East India Company ) led by Hugh Rose. She is like goddess Durga charging upon Demon Mahishasura.With Damodar, her adopted child tucked on her back, she wields her fierce sword in the battle field. Furious was her resolve to flout the Doctrine of Lapse,that made her to lose kingdom and which forbade her adopted, minor son from inheriting the throne.

Rani Lakshmi Bai gave the toughest fight to the British as the siege of Jhansi lasted for about two weeks.When the British army entered Jhansi , Rani Lakshmi Bai, tied her son Damodar Rao to her back and fought bravely using two swords in her two hands.She was supported by Tantia Tope and Nana Sahib heroes of 1857 uprising or the first war of independence.

"Chitra ney Arjun ko paaya, Shiv sey mili Bhavaani thi,
Bundele harbolo ke munh hum ne suni kahaani thi ..
Khoob ladi mardaani vo to jhaansi vali rani thi" 



These are lines from the popular ' Veer Rasa' poem that we heard in our childhood . This is what has been aptly portrayed on the screen by talented Kangana Ranaut.

Superb acting, fantastic action and dazzle of her sword; None could portray Rani Laxmi Bai better than Kangana.Saw her energy packed acting in Manikarnika. 

Excellent acting by Dany Denzongpa as Ghulam Ghaus khan , Rani's faithful commander who achieved martyrdom while fighting the Firangi. The Maqbara of this commander lies inside Jhansi fort. A park is named as Ghulam Ghaus Khan Park in Jhansi town. And the People of Bundelkhand have not forgotten their real icons. 

 Subhdra Kumari Chauhan's Popular poem " Khoob Ladi Mardaani " should have been set to music and put at some proper slot in the movie . However , this is my personal opinion.

Anyways , the movie impresses you from beginning to end. Kangana is impressive in every frame .It is a must watch ..

(Avtar Mota)

PS
Mahishasur-mardini Stotra is a very popular devotional stotra of Goddess Durga written by Adi Sankaracharya .Durga is also known as Shailputri or the Daughter of the Mountains. This strotra is also recited at Sri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Bhawan katra . Some people believe that it was composed by Tenali Ramakrishna Kavi.
                                                                     


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CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.
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