Manoj Muntashir wants Priyanka Chopra to play the maratha queen Ahilyabai Holkar in his upcoming

Prominent writer-lyricist Manoj Muntashir is gearing up to make his debut as a producer with a movie on the life of 18th century Maratha queen Ahilyabai Holkar. In a recent tete-a-tete with a tabloid, he conveyed his preference to rope in Priyanka Chopra to fetch this iconic personality to life on the big screen.

While talking to Mid-day, Manoj disclosed that he will also be working as a 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 also expressed 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 budding 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 talked 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.