There is so much of the talented actress' efforts to appear queenly, the trailer barely offers a glimpse of the impressive supporting cast, namely Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni, Suresh Oberoi and others who flit by in this steamroller view of a woman warrior's day-out binge. Threadbare thunder in a fancy teacup.
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Alarmingly and annoyingly, the film wears a thick and heavy Sanjay Leela Bhansali hangover. In the way the camera zooms in and pans the long stretches of the battle scenes, I was taken back to Bhansali's "Bajirao Mastani". In fact one of Kangana's derring-do in a battle sequence here, she gambols over her army to strike was a move identical to Ranveer Singh's in "Bajirao Mastani".
So is Kangana's Jhansi Ki Rani, Bajirao or Mastani or both?
It's a highly derivative world created by people who seem to have the resources but not the vision. We could do with a lot more chutzpah when recreating such an important chapter from Indian history.
It's not all a wash-out, though. Kangana seems to convey sufficient fire and elasticity. Her accent is a downer, though.
This is the way the trailer moves: uplifting one moment down to being a disappointment the next. Let's hope the film is not as uneven in tone.
By Subhash K.Jha (IANS)