Jisshu Sengupta as Maharaja Gangadhar Rao In Manikarnika

Thursday, 20 December 2018 11:27

Popular Bengali actor Jisshu Sengupta will be seen essaying the role of Maharaja Gangadhar Rao in Zee Studios and Kamal Jain’s Manikarnika – The Queen of Jhansi.

Gandhadhar was one of the lesser-known kings of his time. He had a keen interest in performing arts, theatre and music. Unlike what might be said/considered about him, he was a liberal and loving husband, extremely supportive of his wife Manikarnika, especially her warrior side. To shower his love, he built the biggest library at that time in India inside the palace because Manikarnika loved reading.

Talking about his role, Jisshu says, “It was enriching and exciting to essay such a creditable role of Maharaja Gangadhar Rao. Essaying roles like these creates a sense of giving back to the country in some form even if it is cinematically inspired. From the very first time the story was narrated to me, every aspect of the shooting has been special. I was essaying the character of a Sadhu in Srijit Mukherji’s Ek Je Chhilo Raja and playing A King in Manikarnika. It was very hard to keep switching roles. But talking about Gangadhar Rao, I enjoyed the depiction and direction. It feels good when mainstream cinema acknowledges regional actors like me for roles that are generally played by more commercial Bollywood names.”

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