Two months after he surprised fans with a new film announcement, Akshay Kumar has finally found the leading lady for his upcoming historical movies ‘Prithviraj’ in 2017 Miss World Manushi Chhillar, who will be making her Bollywood debut.
Chhillar will be seen essaying the role of Sanyogita, wife of the 12th-century Indian king Prithviraj Chauhan.
The upcoming feature is being directed by Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi and bankrolled by Aditya Chopra.
“We auditioned a lot of young, fresh faces for the role because we were looking for a stunningly gorgeous Indian heroine. While Sanyogita was an incredibly beautiful person, she was also a strong, confident girl. We were looking to find someone who could match the magnetic persona of Sanyogita and we found that in Manushi,” the director said, adding that Chhillar auditioned for the role “a couple of times”.
“I’m thoroughly happy and thrilled about the learnings that I will have through this journey. My life, so far, has really been a fairy tale. From becoming Miss India and then Miss World to now getting such a big project as my debut film, it’s like a new, exciting chapter of my life,” Chhillar said.
The actress added that she finds it a “huge responsibility” to play princess Sanyogita.
“She was a powerful personality and she stood up for what is right and took the most important decisions of her life by herself. Her life is an extremely important chapter in Indian history and I will try my best to play her as accurately as possible,” Chhillar said.
The film was first announced on September 9 on Kumar’s birthday. The actor will be seen in the lead, needless to say, and he had also shared that he is “humbled” to play a “hero” he looks up to for his “valour and values.”
“It is truly an honour that I will be playing the role of one of the most fearless and courageous kings of India, Prithviraj Chauhan. As a nation, we should always celebrate our heroes and immortalise what they did to propagate the values that Indians lived by,” the actor had said then.
Calling Prithviraj an inspiration for generations, Kumar stated the film is an attempt to bring to light his “valour and daredevilry.”
“Prithviraj was the only person standing in front of a merciless nemesis and the bravery he showed, made him a true Indian hero, an inspiration for generations and a legend. Prithviraj is our attempt to bring to light his valour and daredevilry. So this announcement coming on my birthday has indeed made it more special for me,” he had said.
‘Prithviraj’ will reportedly revolve around the First Battle Of Tarain led by Chauhan. It is expected to go on floors this month. The biopic will be shot in Mumbai and Rajasthan and will hit big screens on Diwali next year.
Kumar is currently basking in the success of ‘Housefull 4’ and is awaiting the release of ‘Good Newwz’ on December 26 in the UAE, starring Kareena Kapoor, Kiara Advani and Diljit Dosanjh.
