The film told the story of Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi, one of the key leaders of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the British.
This was the first film in which Kangana Ranaut was credited as a director. She also played the film's titular role. Ranaut shared the credit for direction with Radha Krishna Jagarlamudi aka Krish. She took over the film's reins after Krish became busy with the Telugu film "NTR: Kathanayakudu" (2019) and the schedule for this film got delayed. Ranaut's directorial debut went on to become a big hit but was surrounded by controversies. Ranaut had to replace Sonu Sood with Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub since he stopped showing up for work and communicating with her. The scenes that had already been shot with Sood had to be reshot with Ayyub. According to Ranaut, Sood could not stomach a woman directing him. Director Krish also had a fallout with her. He accused her of being unprofessional and took offence to her claim in an interview that she had directed 70% of the film. He claimed that most of the film was his. He also said that in a bid to sideline him, Ranaut had deliberately credited him with his full name, Radha Krishna Jagarlamudi, even though he always went by Krish. Ranaut dismissed these allegations. She countered the accusation regarding Krish's credits specifically by saying that it was the producer who made the decision. Actress Mishti Chakravarty also expressed her disappointment at the film and the size of her role in it. She said that the final product wasn't what she had signed up for. The actress claimed that Ranaut did not direct her but ended up removing some key scenes featuring her.[1][2][3][4][5]
Ankita Lokhande made her acting debut in this film. The actress defended Kangana Ranaut when she came under criticism from various quarters and clarified that her role in the film was not reduced.[6]
Filmmaker Hansal Mehta came under criticism when he implied on social media that Kangana Ranaut and the controversies surrounding the film were to blame for the paralytic stroke producer Kamal Jain suffered two weeks before its release. Jain recovered in time and went on to announce another film with Ranaut - "Manikarnika Returns: The Legend of Didda".[7][8]
This was actor Suresh Oberoi's comeback film. His last film before this was "World Cupp 2011" (2009).[9]
