Kangana Ranaut does her best. She is awkward and stilted as the demure bride but comes into her own as the warrior queen. She adds a swagger to her stride and a steely determination to her demeanour that are hard not to cheer for. She is the only thing that make this film worth a watch.

Manikarnika is the sum of what it’s saying – it doesn’t have visual stratagems strong enough to distract the viewer. It lacks the intricate design of Bajirao Mastani and Padmaavat and the muscular drive of Baahubali, only coming to life when it borrows the bloody graphic-novel look of Zack Snyder films (such as the sequence where the queen slashes her way through a dozen enemy soldiers).

A flat retelling of the legend of Jhansi Ki Rani that aims at stoking nationalism but reduces the story to mere platitudes

The final war between Rani & the British is over and Manikarnika turns out to be a lost opportunity.

The film, which also features Ankita Lokhande, Nihar Pandya, Suresh Oberoi, Atul Kulkarni, Danny Denzongappa and Jisshu Sengupta, will be clashing with Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s Thackeray.

The Manikarnika production isn’t lavish enough to suggest a grand sweep of history, and the focus on its heroine is too narrow to accommodate a larger conversation about the efficacy of Lakshmibai’s actions. There is plenty of leaping and feinting, but not enough reflecting.