I Can’t Let Kangana Take Away 10 Years of My Life: Ketan Mehta

Ketan Mehta, the creator of monumental epics on such creatures of history as Mangal Pandey, Sardar Patel and Dashrath Manjhi, was all set to start his career’s most ambitious biopic.

No one had attempted a film on Rani Laxmibai (aka Jhansi ki rani), the warrior queen who battled for her self-hood and country with a baby tied to her back. Ketan was up for the challenge. He had penciled in Kangana Ranaut for the title role in Rani Of Jhansi: The Warrior Queen.

Then it all fell apart.

Ketan is still trying to recover from the blow that Kangana dealt to his most ambitious dream.

“In February I was in hospital for a minor surgery. When I came out, I got to know of Kangana’s doing through the media. No, she did not inform me that she was not doing my film. As far I was concerned, we were fully into pre-production just weeks away from going on the floors, when she did this,” says Ketan softly, still unable to fully process the enormity of the betrayal.

Ketan Mehta Jodhpur National University
Ketan Mehta Jodhpur National University
Ketan Mehta Jodhpur National University
Ketan Mehta Jodhpur National University
Ketan Mehta Jodhpur National University
Ketan Mehta Jodhpur National University
Ketan Mehta Jodhpur National University
Ketan Mehta Jodhpur National University
Ketan Mehta Jodhpur National University
Ketan Mehta Jodhpur National University
Ketan Mehta Jodhpur National University
Ketan Mehta Jodhpur National University
Ketan Mehta Jodhpur National University
Ketan Mehta Jodhpur National University
Ketan Mehta Jodhpur National University
Ketan Mehta Jodhpur National University
Ketan Mehta Jodhpur National University
Ketan Mehta Jodhpur National University
Ketan Mehta Jodhpur National University
Ketan Mehta Jodhpur National University
Ketan Mehta Jodhpur National University
Ketan Mehta Jodhpur National University
Ketan Mehta Jodhpur National University
Ketan Mehta Jodhpur National University
Ketan Mehta Jodhpur National University
Ketan Mehta Jodhpur National University
Ketan Mehta Jodhpur National University
Ketan Mehta Jodhpur National University

Ketan says he already had a co-producer on board. “Rani Of Jhansi was planned as a English-Hindi bilingual with Gurinder Chadha as the British producer. It was going to the first full-fledged Indo-UK co-production. Where, when and how did Kamal Jain (who now produces the film) come into the picture? I’ve no clue. Only Kangana can answer that question,” he says.

Ketan can only wonder at the levels of unscrupulousness revealed in the relocation of his project to an unauthorized source.

The brilliant filmmaker, known the world over for his masterly portrayal of oppression and women’s empowerment in Mirch Masala and Maya Memsaab, now faces the biggest challenge of his career.