Manoj Muntashir Keen To Cast Priyanka Chopra As Ahilyabai Holkar; 'She Has The Fire, Passion & Conviction'

Popular writer-lyricist Manoj Muntashir is all set to make his debut as a producer with a film on the life of 18th century Maratha queen Ahilyabai Holkar. In a recent tete-a-tete with a tabloid, he expressed his desire to rope in Priyanka Chopra to bring this iconic personality to life on the big screen.

While speaking with Mid-day, Manoj revealed that he will also be working as the co-writer and dialogue writer on this historical film titled Punyshlok Ahilyaadevi. He said that the multilingual film will be made in Hindi, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu.

Elaborating on why the makers zeroed in this subject, Manoj explained, "When we talk of women rulers, we stop at Rani Lakshmibai. While her contribution to India can never be denied, neither can Ahilyabaiji's. At a time when Aurangzeb was destroying temples, she was constructing new ones. But we won't approach the story from that angle; instead, we'll focus on her legacy."

The lyricist told the leading daily that he wants Priyanka Chopra to play the Maratha queen as she has the fire, passion and conviction to pull off such a role. He further added that the script is in the nascent stage and they are yet to approach the actress for this film.

"Priyanka has the fire, passion and conviction to play such a role. Her performance in Bajirao Mastani [2015] was flawless. We haven't spoken to her as the script is at a nascent stage, but I would love to approach her eventually," Manoj told the leading daily.

Punyshlok Ahilyaadevi is slated to go on floors later this year.

Speaking about Priyanka Chopra's Bollywood career, the actress was last seen in Shonali Bose's 2019 film The Sky Is Pink. In March this year, during an 'Ask Me Anything' session on Twitter, when a fan asked PeeCee about her next upcoming Bollywood film, the actress had replied, "Next Year!!!," without divulging any further details on it.