Kangana Ranaut sports khadi in 'Manikarnika'

Mumbai: National Award-winning actress Kangana Ranaut, who essays the title role in the epic drama "Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi", will be seen wearing the heritage Indian fabric Khadi, an official said here on Tuesday.

Besides Kangana, several others in the film's cast would also be donning beautiful ensemble Khadi costumes sponsored by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).

"We all know that since 1926, Mahatma Gandhiji had upheld the Khadi as a symbol of Swaraj and spun the final yarn of India's fabric of Independence. We are proud to be a part of India's indomitable spirit of Independence," said KVIC Chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena.

Citing a little-known fact, he said several decades before Gandhiji's tryst with the Charkha, a girl was born to a Maharashtrian-origin family in Varanasi as Manikarnika Tambe or Manu.

Manikarnika not only mastered reading the Vedas and Puranas, horse-riding and sword fighting but also learned to weave before being proclaimed as the legendary Queen Laxmibai, Jhansi Ki Rani.

One of the iconic idols of Indian history, Queen Laxmibai of Jhansi sacrificed her life at the age of 29 while defending her kingdom and country from the British.

Saxena said Rani Laxmibai was one of the most fascinating warriors of the Indian freedom struggle and had waged the first war for Independence, wearing Khadi.

"It proved that prior to British rule in India, Khadi was flourishing in our country and later it was the charkha which drove the Britishers out of the country," Saxena explained.

The Khadi costumes in the forthcoming film being released on Friday, have been designed by Neeta Lulla and showcase both strength and courage on-screen, meticulously crafted in fabrics like raw cotton, brocade, and paithani.

He said that wearing Khadi means paying homage to the craftspersons who spin the yarn on the charkha virtually round-the-clock even in the machine age, and mainstream cinema would do justice to promote the fabric to the millennial generation as well as the masses.