Ketan Mehta should have been an archaeologist. As son as he gets behind a camera, he sees history floating before his eyes. He was the one who visualized Aamir Khan with his thick, twirling moustache in ‘Mangal Pandey.’ This film faced a lot of criticism within India and did not do very well, but ran successfully outside the country.
After ‘Mangal Pandey,’ Mehta is enticed by the historical figure of courageous Jhansi Rani. “It’s a common misconception abroad that Indian women are very soft and don’t have the courage to oppose anything. But my ‘Jhansi Rani’ will prove beyond a doubt that Indian women are in no way inferior in courage to those outside India,” says Mehta who also gives a little background on this historical film.
He has chosen Aishwarya Rai to do the title role. A dainty deer to do the role of a tigress?
“That’s what everyone is saying, but once you see the film after its release, you will be convinced that no one else would have suited the role better than Aishwarya Rai,” says Ketan Mehta with supreme confidence.
A fancy rani to do the role of courageous Jhansi Rani…what is the world coming to these days?!
