MANIKARNIKA - The Queen of Jhansi | Gearing for China release - Page 24

Kangana Ranaut believes in giving her best to every scene of her film, even if it means cajoling a co-actor for delivering his bit well. This is what she did while shooting with a child actor in Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi'. The actress plays Rani Laxmibai, a queen and a mother to a two-year-old tot in the film. For this, the makers roped in a two-year-old boy. In order to make her scenes with him look authentic, Kangana worked doubly hard to acquaint and familiarise herself with the child, so he looks comfortable with her in the scenes.

"Kangana made sure that she feeds him once or twice in a day even though his mother was around with him all the time. She played with him whenever she was not in front of the camera. Even if the scene required him to be with her for exactly three minutes, she spent the whole day with him so that he doesn't feel uncomfortable while working with her and the shoot just seems like a part of their role play in the game. As a result, the child acted well with her on camera and their scenes were shot without too many retakes, says a source close to the project.

When contacted, the film's co-producer Kamal Jain told us, "It's true that Kangana worked very hard on establishing a believable chemistry with the child who plays her son. She's not a mother in real life but she plays one here. So, she had to look comfortable holding the child in her arms or on her back in crucial scenes. The child also had to feel at ease in her presence which has happened because she made a lot of effort.