An all-new avatar for Anushka

Anushka Shetty, the sultry siren from Tollywood, is essaying the title role of Rani Rudramma Devi, the revered 13th-century queen of the Kakatiya dynasty, in the bilingual film directed by Gunashekar. It’s also well known that the dusky actress went through special training in traditional martial arts and horse riding in preparation for the role.  Sources say that Bollywood’s Neeta Lulla, who has designed her costumes, has done so in a way that has Anushka looking glamorous even where she has to perform her fight scenes.

Being a female-centric film, any filmmaker would want to give the lead heroine a dramatic introduction scene. And Gunashekar’s handling of this crucial segment is visually spectacular enough.

The director recently canned the high – action intro scene at the huge period set, designed by Thota Tharani. It features Rudramma astride a horse who notices people running in panic to save their lives from a wild elephant that has entered the town. A bold girl, who has been trained in the art of fighting, Rudramma jumps off the horse and performs a somersault before landing the next moment on top of the elephant. How she tames the wild tusker is the stuff of another story. Those who watched Anushka perform the daredevil stunts were quite dumbstruck.