Exclusive! Krish hits back at Kangana Ranaut and her sister; says, ‘Adding one close up and claiming you shot everything is not right’

Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi director Krish is not a happy man. Not only did Kangana Ranaut take away his credit as the director of the film, but she even made it lose its sheen. And that’s not us, but Krish who is doing the talking. Yes, the director is furious that he and his team haven’t got their due. But what makes him even more agitated is the fact that Kangana and her sister, Rangoli Chandel, have claimed that they shot 70 per cent of the film. In an exclusive interview with us, Krish breaks the bubble and reveals the absolute truth.

While slamming Kangana and Rangoli, Krish reveals to us exclusively, “Staying away from Hyderabad for 400 days is not a joke. Out of the 400 days, I shot for 109 days. I do not want to comment on anything anyone said or her sister said. My version is same. Every time they said I left the project, I left the project. They are questioning my morality and my integrity towards filmmaking. But I had finished the entire film! The major shooting happened again because Sonu Sood’s character and his screen time was long.”

Krish explains further, “So when you take out one character, you need to fill it. In some sequences, the entire scene is same but you add just one close up. You cannot claim that you shot everything. At this moment, it is not about who shot or who didn’t! A golden standard film has lost a lot of sheen, which hurts me a lot. If Sonu Sood didn’t walk out, there was nothing much to shoot. Sonu shot for 38 days, so when he walked away, you are removing 38 days of shot altogether.”

Krish reveals that when he submitted the film, he was told that a few portions have to be reshot. He was informed that Kangana would reshoot, but he didn’t know all this controversy would follow. As the director mentioned, “Initially only a few scenes were to be reshot. Everything was set and I didn’t see that far when she first spoke about this! The way I was deceived is surprising. As a director, you are very excited about your idea. My only agenda in the film is to direct a good movie. I had to reach certain deadlines, August 15 last year was the release. I was thinking towards that direction and even in my wildest dream, I would have never imagined something like this would happen. Who will expect an actor to come in and try to take over your place?”

The Manikarnika director further added that the film lost its grandeur with botchy reshoots. As Krish added to us exclusively, “The shots I took in the real locations, she shot for them again with smaller units. There is a huge difference in what I shot and what she did! The cinematographer I worked with, Gnana Shekar, he is a master of painting the cinema screen. He and the art director all were gone.”

But why is he speaking out now? Why not before? Krish says, “I accepted this film because Kangana Ranaut is a very good actor. I was excited that she will play Rani Lakshmibai. She accepted the film when I came on board. She saw my previous films and praised Kanche and Gautamiputra too. Basically they saw an opportunity in me. The final product was there and unnecessarily it was dragged further by all this. There was no need to change my name and make her the creator of the film in the end. I just want closure. My whole team is hurt because they worked a lot and she has taken away the credit. There are so many people who have not got their credit in the rolling title in the end.”

Krish concludes by saying, “I hope she never does this to any other director in the future.” What do you guys have to say about this whole controversy? Share with us your thoughts in the comments section below! Also stay tuned to Cine Blitz as we get you all the updates about the ongoing Manikarnika controversy right here.