NEW FIGHT IN B-TOWN

Actor Sonu Sood quit Manikarnika amid controversy and conflicting reports about a tiff with Kangana RANAUT

Sparks seem to fly often when Kangana Ranaut is the actor in question. Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, the movie where she plays the title role, is in the news and not for a positive reason. Actor Sonu Sood has walked out from the project and there are conflicting versions for the reason. Buzz is he didn’t like Kangana directing parts of the film while some say he simply did not have the time.

Said his spokesperson, “Sonu has always been a thorough professional and honoured all his commitments. He had informed the makers of Manikarnika... about his dates and schedule well in advance.”

And the reason according to them is his prior commitment to playing a grey character in Rohit Shetty’s Simmba where he has grown a beard as part of his look. But the actor was supposed to have a clean-shaven look in Manikarnika. According to a source, Sonu was asked to re-shoot portions for the film by Kangana. “He suggested filming the portions that required him to be clean shaven post his Simmba schedule. Sonu has always been very committed to all his projects and does what is required for his films. He could not accommodate the new dates and redo his look for Manikarnika, as he wasn’t informed about it earlier,” said the statement.

It went on to add, “Inconveniencing the team of his current film to accommodate the demands of another is against his professional principles. Sonu has taken the higher road ahead and wishes the team of Manikarnika all the best. While he does understand the issues the makers of Manikarnika are facing, it would be unacceptable for any actor to re-shoot portions and new scenes, owing to a change in director, the script and the role at the very last minute.”

Rumours flying around the industry are that Kangana and Sonu had a personality clash. Kangana, however, has slammed reports of a showdown. She said, “When I never met him, never directed him, when did I have this showdown?”

In a statement, the Manikarnika actor said, “Sonu and I haven’t even met since the last shot with Krish (director) last year. He is busy filming Simmba.

He couldn’t even give us tentative dates to match combinations with other actors. The producers showed him the film and writers narrated the patchwork to him. He refused to meet me. He vehemently denied to work under a woman director, which is kind of amusing because Sonu is a dear friend and I have even launched the music of a film that he produced at his request. Even though the team suggested that they have full faith in me, it seems, Sonu had neither dates nor faith.”

She went on to add, “And when I last spoke to him, he suggested that I can go ahead with someone else and when I narrated the script to Zeeshan Ayyub, he called the studio and gave the dates. By that time, it was too late as Zeeshan gave me dates for September. Now I hear I had a showdown with him,” Kangana added.

On the other hand, the film’s producer Kamal Jain insists that Sonu Sood’s departure from Manikarnika is mutual.

He said, “Our team is totally focussed and dedicated to finish the patchwork shoot to complete the film on time as our release date of January 25, 2019 is set in stone. The post production and VFX is going on in full swing and as well as the balance and patch shoot. I have utmost respect and love for Sonu and he is like family to us. With a heavy heart, we have mutually decided to part ways due to his date unavailability. He is a thorough professional and have his dates committed to Simmba which is also releasing in December. I would love to work with him in the future again.” 

Directed by Krish, the film tells the story of Rani Laxmibai. Sonu was roped in for the role of a warrior in the film, backed by Zee Studios and producer Kamal Jain. It is slated to release on January 25, 2019.