11 things to know about Rani Lakshmibai, the real-life Manikarnika

Powerful female characters and cinema have always made for intriguing bedfellows—although, unfortunately for us, movies with women warriors as protagonists have been rare. Luckily, in recent times, Bollywood has not shied away from restoring our unsung sheroes to their much-deserved primacy. Take Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat for example, which saw Deepika Padukone as Rani Padmavati, a Rajput queen known not just for her beauty but also her weaponry skills, or Karan Johar’s attempt at fore-fronting lost legend and Aurangzeb’s accomplished sister, Jahanara Begum (reportedly to be played by Kareena Kapoor Khan) in his upcoming epic period drama, Takht.

Hindi cinema (and an audience that seems to prefer seeing men in leading roles) has finally warmed up to the idea of powerful female protagonists, and proof of this can be sought in the industry’s upcoming releases. Tomorrow marks the release of Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, a feature excavating the story of one of India’s most formidable female warriors, Rani Laxmibai, who changed our independence landscape with so much impact that we still feel the reverberations today. The film sees Kangana Ranaut as both the titular character and one of the directors, and also features known faces like Ankita Lokhande and Atul Kulkarni. Here, we teleport you to the 18th century to uncover some unknown facts about the Queen of Jhansi, before the rebellion and just before the release of the film on the silver screen.

1. Her date of birth is contented

While her exact birth date may be contested, historians believe Rani Laxmibai was born on November 19, 1835, to a Marathi Brahmin family. Interestingly, the Queen of Jhansi was not in fact born in Jhansi; she took birth in Kashi (now Varanasi).

2. She was christened Manikarnika at birth

Have you been wondering why Kangana Ranaut’s movie is called Manikarnika if it’s about Rani Laxmibai? Turns out, Manikarnika was the Queen’s maiden name, and she was nicknamed Manu. She was rechristened to Lakshmibai in honour of Goddess Lakshmi on her wedding day in 1834—Rani Laxmibai married her husband, Maharaja Gangadhar Rao Newalkar of Jhansi (played by popular Bengali actor Jisshu Sengupta in the film), at just 14.

3. Manikarnika had an unusual upbringing  

Since her mother Bhagirathi Sapre’s passing when she was four, Rani Lakshmibai was brought up in the household of the last Peshwa (ruler) of the Maratha Empire, Baji Rao II—Suresh Oberoi plays the role in Kangana Ranaut-starrer. Rani Lakshmibai’s father, Moropant Tambe, worked at the Peshwa’s court. She was homeschooled, unlike other girls her age, and taught how to wield a sword, along with other practices like shooting, horsemanship and fencing, with her childhood playmate and cousin, Tatya Tope (played by Atul Kulkarni in the period drama) and Nana Sahib, Baji Rao II’s adopted son. She also took formal training in ancient gymnastic form of mallakhamba.

4. Manikarnika often dressed like a man

Rani Laxmibai famously made the humble sari her uniform at home and on the battleground, and even a symbol of Swades. During wars, she apparently tied a scarf around her head to keep flyaways off her face, and draped the nine-yard staple in a typical Maharashtrian Nauvari style. In the movie Mankarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, Kangana Ranaut’s grand outfits have been designed by Neeta Lulla.

5.Manikarnika lost her family by 1853

In 1851, the young Queen had given her husband an heir, but the baby did not survive for more than four months. Two years later, the raja followed his biological child to the grave. Following the then-established Hindu practise, just before his death, the Maharaja adopted a child called Anand Rao, the son of Gangadhar Rao’s cousin and future heir to the throne, who was later bestowed with the name Damodar Rao. Until he would come of age, the Queen would rule the state of Jhansi.

6. The Raj’s rejection of Damodar’s claim to the throne led to the rebellion

After Maharaja’s death, the British East India Company, under Governor-General Lord Dalhousie, annexed the state to its territories by applying the Doctrine of Lapse policy, which dismissed Damodar’s succession to the throne since he was adopted. The 22-year-old queen refused to cede Jhansi to the Raj, and wrote various well-formulated, legalistic letters to Lord Dalhousie to overturn this rule, but the officials ignored her appeals or reverted with vacuous explanations. In March 1854, Rani Lakshmibai was given an annual pension of Rs 60,000 and ordered to leave the palace and the fort. The astute ruler was, however, too brave to be cajoled.

7. In battle, Manikarnika’s intellect was whetted

May 1857 marked the advent of the Indian Rebellion, which commenced in Meerut. When news of the struggle reached Jhansi, the Rani asked British political officer, captain Alexander Skene, for permission to raise a body of armed men for her own protection—and he agreed. Until January 1858, Jhansi was at peace under Rani Laxmibai’s rule. When the British forces finally arrived in March they found it well-defended—she defended Jhansi when Sir Hugh Rose, Commander-in-chief for the British Raj in India, besieged the state. After putting up a tough fight, on April 2, the Rani withdrew from the palace on a horse, with Damodar Rao on her back and fled. The escort included Tatya Tope and warrior Gulam Gaus Khan (played by Danny Denzongpa in the film), who mounted a successful assault on the city fortress of Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. Just before her escape, Laxmibai told Jhalkaribai (played by Ankita Lokhande in Manikarnika) to set out for General Rose’s camp in disguise and declare herself to be the Queen. This led to a confusion that continued for a whole day, which gave the Rani’s army renewed advantage.

8. She died a warrior’s death

There are two versions of how the Rani met her end. According to one version, a force led by Laxmibai fought the 8th King’s Royal Irish Hussars, a cavalry regiment in the British army, near Phool Bagh of Gwalior, where over 5,000 Indian soldiers were killed. The Rani was wounded and unhorsed fighting back, and later shot by one of the Hussars. In another version, she, after being severely injured and not wanting the British to capture her body, asked a hermit to burn it. Both versions bear testimony to the brave fight she put up and her heroic death.

9. The British were first to write about the Queen’s unwavering spirit

In the British report of this battle in Jhansi, Sir Hugh Rose chronicled that Rani Lakshmibai is “personable, clever and beautiful”, and that she is “the most dangerous of all Indian leaders.” Rose commented that she had been buried “with great ceremony under a tamarind tree under the Rock of Gwalior, where I saw her bones and ashes.” 20 years after her demise, Colonel Malleson wrote in the History Of The Indian Mutiny, London, 1878: “Whatever her faults in British eyes may have been, her countrymen will ever remember that she was driven by ill-treatment into rebellion, and that she lived and died for her country.”

10. She has inspired art and even postal stamps

The Queen served as a muse for generations of poets, writers, painters and filmmakers. In 1957, India issued two stamps to commemorate a centenary of her sacrifice—a stamp of 0.15 Naya Paisa showcasing her portrait on a horse in a battlefield, and another featuring a painting of Rani Lakshmibai by MF Hussain.

11. Her fort is now a museum

Perched inside the Fort of Jhansi, Rani Jhansi Museum, as its name suggests, is dedicated to the Queen. The museum is home to some of the weapons used by Rani Lakshmibai and her fellow combatants throughout the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857.

Also read:

Neeta Lulla on recreating Rani Lakshmibai’s wardrobe for Manikarnika

Kangana Ranaut talks about the Indian ethnic look she’s most partial to

The sari draper to Bollywood celebrities lets us in on her top tips

Best dressed this week: Kangana Ranaut and Alia Bhatt