Sushmita Sen to produce, direct and act in 'Jhansi Ki Rani'

Sushmita Sen is all set to make the transition from beauty queen to warrior queen as she gears up to produce, direct and act in Jhansi Ki Rani . Reports are that Sushmita wants to portray the character of the legendary Rani Lakshmibai so badly that she's decided to produce a film on her life. Sushmita told a newspaper it had always been her dream to play the warrior queen. “Every actor has a dream role. Mine is Jhansi,” said Sushmita, who is in discussion with scriptwriters on the project. “This is my chance to play the one historical character that I most closely empathise with,” she added. And now that she has also donned the director's hat for the film, she says it was destiny, which made her a filmmaker. ‘Jhansi Ki Rani’ will celebrate the life of the valiant Indian queen who fought British colonialists during the first war of independence 150 years ago. Sushmita of course will be playing the title role of the queen. "Me directing a film, it's actually destiny," Sushmita told reporters in Mumbai recently. "I was never meant to direct (the film)… it just so happens that I will be directing it." Rani Lakshmibai, the gutsy queen of Jhansi was a sword-wielding, horse-riding warrior, who challenged the British after they refused to recognise her adopted child as the heir to the throne. Her revolt quickly became a key focus of the 1857 mutiny against the colonial rulers started by a handful of Indian soldiers. Rani Lakshmibai emerged as a symbol of resistance to British rule before her death at the age of 23 on the battlefield, fighting British soldiers in 1858.