Meet Ankita Lokhande aka Jhalkari Bai

After months of waiting, we have finally got the official look of actress Ankita Lokhande as Jhalkari Bai in her debut film- Manikarnika. The character of Jhalkari Bai is a prominent one. A woman soldier in Rani Laxmibai’s army, Jhalkari Bai eventually rose to the position of an advisor to the queen. She was a Dalit hero and is still being worshipped by them. Many statues were built in her honour. 

To do justice to her character, Ankita trained herself in horse-riding and sword fighting for 30-35 days, under the guidance of Hollywood action director, Nick Powell. 

The actress’ former partner, Sushant Singh Rajput, on seeing Ankita’s look, wrote, “It looks absolutely great Ankita. I am extremely happy to see this. May God bless you with lots of success and happiness.” 

The film is slated to release on January 25.