Exclusive Interview with Swati & Devika Bhise From “The Warrior Queen of Jhansi”

Our host Hira Zubair chats it up with the director Swati Bhise and actress, Devika Bhise for their upcoming movie “The Warrior Queen of Jhansi” releasing on November 15th.

“The Warrior Queen of Jhansi” which is Swati Bhise’s directorial debut while Devika Bhise, her daughter, plays the lead character – Rani Lakshmibai. Swati was intrigued by the story of the Queen of Jhansi and wanted to portray to the world that women can do anything if they choose to do it and that they should not depend or rely on anyone else as all women have a warrior within themselves.

Swati and Devika did thorough research on the Warrior Queen and came out with this masterpiece. No one could ever guess that Devika was born and brought up in America. Devika had to learn to ride a horse, swinging the sword, archery, learning martial arts in order to bring justice to such a huge historical character. 

Devika had to undergo rigorous training and by the virtue of being a Bharatnatyam dancer, she was quite fit and trained. She disclosed how she had to learn, unlearn and relearn so many things such as the way to hit people in such a way that it looks like killing someone on the screen but in actuality, no one gets harmed. 

It was amazing when Swati disclosed how Devika not only used to ride the horses but also used to groom them. “The Warrior Queen of Jhansi” was shot in India, Morocco, and the United Kingdom between extreme weather conditions. Even though it got tiring and upsetting at the end of the day, the team endured it all to create this masterpiece. 

The takeaway from the movie is that if you have a cause that you believe in and is worth fighting for then definitely it is worth the shot. Rani Lakshmi bai can be a great example as she could have bowed down in front of English rulers yet she gave them a tough fight because it was the right thing to do. This movie is surely worth watching.