Kangana Ranaut on 'Manikarnika' controversy: I will not apologise to Shri Rajput Karni Sena

With only a day left for Kangana Ranaut starrer ‘Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi’ to release across theatres in India, the fiery actress at a media interaction said she will not apologise to a fringe group, Shri Rajput Karni Sena, for the statement she made against them. 

Kangana came for a media interaction on Wednesday in Mumbai as she addressed reports of a tiff between her and the fringe group that allegedly threatened to burn theatres if the film was released without making suggested edits. Apparently, they wanted a few scenes altered citing factual errors -- like showing the Rajput queen dancing to a song. 

Reacting to the said demands, Kangana had earlier said that their film’s content has been verified by credible historians and issued a warning saying: "I am a Rajput and I will destroy them" if they try to stop the film from screening. 

Soon after the statement was made, the fringe group claimed that the outfit is not involved in the protests against ‘Manikarnika’ and stated that some people are using the group’s name for vested interests. They, however, demanded an apology from Kangana for making a derogatory statement against their organisation. Also read: Kangana's statement on #MeToo

On this, Kangana said, "I will not apologize to anybody. I have never apologized whenever I haven't made a mistake. We have promised that we haven't shown anything wrong about Rani Laxmibai in the film so, they should support us. Rani Laxmibai is not my relative and I feel she is the daughter of the entire country so, we all should support the film. Shri Rajput Karni Sena should not play their ego card with me because I am not here to say sorry to anyone." 

In another news, Kangana shared a video in which she is seen paying tribute to Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray on his birth anniversary on Wednesday. She paid tribute ahead of the release of 'Manikarnika..' which will be clashing with the release of the biopic 'Thackeray'. Both the films will release on January 25. 

Also read: Sonu Sood on walking out of 'Manikarnika': Not being a part of that film will always bother me

She said, "I just paid my tribute to him (Thackeray) ahead of his 93rd birth anniversary. People of Maharashtra love and respect Balasaheb Thackeray, and you see, we all have become Maharashtrian because we have been working here for many years. Similarly, Rani Laxmibai belonged to Maharashtra and she was the daughter of Maratha so, for both of them, there is an immense amount of love and respect in our hearts."

‘Manikarnika’ stars Kangana Ranaut, Atul Kulkarni, Ankita Lokhande, Mishti, Jisshu Sengupta, Suresh Oberoi, Danny Denzongpa and Kulbhushan Kharbanda in pivotal roles. The film is directed by Radha Krishna Jagarlamudi and Kangana Ranaut.