Manikarnika controversy: After Sonu Sood, more actors to expose Kangana Ranaut's bullying?

Sonu Sood created ripples across the industry when he angrily walked out of Kangana Ranaut starrer Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi. The actor took the drastic step after allegedly getting bullied by the Queen actress on the film sets.

He even blasted Kangana for her "refusing to work under a woman director" remark saying that gender was not at all issue but she was incompetent to direct the movie.

While Sonu Sood has decided not to speak more on the matter after resting his case, his friend, who wished not be named, has revealed that more actors will come forward to share their story of getting bullied on the sets by Kangana.

"Sadly, we're dealing with a woman who thinks she can bully everyone into submission by playing up the gender card. But, Sonu has decided he won't take the bullying lying down. In fact, other actors from Manikarnika are expected to come forward with their own tale of woe," the friend was quoted as saying by Bollywood Hungama.

When Kangana accused Sonu of being unprofessional and that he refused to work under her direction because she is a woman, Sonu gave a befitting reply to the actress saying that constantly playing the woman, victim card is ridiculous.

"Every time there is a problem involving her, she plays up the gender card. But may I remind her that I've never had a problem with any of co-stars in my career of 19 years in this film industry. May I also remind her that the biggest hit of my career is Happy New Year. And does she remember who directed that? Farah Khan! She is not only my director but also a trusted and dependable buddy," Sonu said.

Simran writer Apurva Asrani too slammed Kangana for hijacking Manikarnika and called it the worst form of "hara-kiri". The National Award winner had earlier spoken about how the Queen actress took over the entire filming and the script of "Simran", which was released in 2017.

"A star hijacking a film and running down the hard work of crew member/s is the worst form of hara-kiri there is. When affected filmmakers cannot control this and instead put on a facade of a 'dignified silence', they allow a monstrous ego to go on a rampage and eventually kill the film," he tweeted.

While it was being said that Kangana took the director's seat after director Krish Jagarlamudi shifted his focus to direct the NTR biopic, it has now been learnt that Krish was expelled from the project and producers meekly complied.

"First, she muscled her way into the writing, and then the direction. It came to a point where Kangana was telling the other actors what to do," the source told Deccan Chronicle.

"Krish has directed many Telugu blockbusters and historical epics like Gautamiputra Satakarni and Kanche. He was chosen to direct Manikarnika for his vast experience. How was he to know that he would be humiliated and pushed out of the project?" the source added.

However, Manikarnika producer Kamal Jain has said that Kangana didn't hijack the project but the makers allowed her to take over.

"After the last schedule was over, we saw the line up of the film and decided that apart from the patchwork, we also needed a few additional scenes. Once the scenes were written, we approached Kangana for additional dates. But Krish had moved on to his next project by then. Given how driven and creatively involved Kangana Ranaut has been on this project since its inception, we realised she would be the best person to take over the mantle," he told Deccan Chronicle.

"Hence, there is no hijacking of the project, whatever decisions are being taken are with the full support of the producer and the studio. The additional shoot of the film is presently underway at ND Studios at Karjat, near Mumbai. We have an aggressive production schedule ahead of us since we are committed to the release the film on January 25th 2019," he added.