From
18th Jan post in this thread:
TM2YC said:
I'm usually a bit put off Bollywood films by all the dancing and nonsense but this ultra-violent battle Epic in an almost '300 meets Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon' style looks very different:
(^ Trailer has optional subtitles)
I hope my local cinema decides to book this one.
My local theater didn't but it popped up on Amazon Prime this weekend:
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi (2019)
Bollywood applies the style of 2017's
'Wonder Woman' to this bloody and action-packed biopic of warrior Queen
Lakshmibai of Jhansi (a leader of the
Rebellion of 1857). It also feels modeled after the "print the legend" approach that
Mel Gibson's 'Braveheart' had towards historical details. The British actors are without exception terrible but luckily they have minimal screen-time and that's mostly confined to being stock evil villains. The Indian cast on the other hand are all superb, especially
Kangana Ranaut in the lead role, she really looks like she could command a Kingdom and lead an army.
The costumes, sets and cinematography are beyond lavish. Fortunately most of the action is practical and well choreographed (at least the equal of a Hollywood Historical Blockbuster) because the CGI additions in the background are not fully convincing. I found the inevitable Bollywood songs surprisingly well integrated into the film and pretty damn toe-tapping, plus the score has a touch of
Hans Zimmer. The closing credits are done in the now familiar
Marvel animated style, to add a final confirmation of the film's ambitions. So if you are unsure about giving a Bollywood film a try, then this might be an accessible place to start.