Deepika Padukone has been in limelight for quite a long time for her next venture, Sanjay Leela Bhansali‘s Rani Padmavati. The film is about the legend Rani Padmavati of Chittor. Each one of us thought that Deepika will be the first actress to play this historical role. But it isn’t so. There has been an actress who played the role of Her Higness Padmavati of Chittor before Deepika Padukone. And she is none other than Tejaswini Lonari, the popular Marathi actress.
Tejaswini portrayed the role of Rani Padmavati on a Television show which was supposed to be a finite series of 104 episodes. But due the case of low TRPs and high production value, the show went off-air earlier than it was planned.
Rani Padmavati was the wife of King Ratansen and was the Queen of Chittor. The tale revolves around the deliberate sacrificing of Padmavati by fire as a protest against Alauddin Khilji, who had conquered the Kingdom of Chittor in order to obtain her. This tradition of self-immolating was called Johur in 1540 CE. According to this tradition women sacrificed themselves by jumping into a burning pyre instead of being captured by enemies.
Tejaswini, who had brought the role of Padmavati into life on screen had done a commendable job. Even though the TV show was short-lived, she did full justice to the character she portrayed. Presently, Tejaswini is a popular Marathi actress.
As for now, Deepika is going to be the next actress to play the role of Rani Padmavati on screen. And we are quite sure, she will impress all her fans with another breath-taking performance.
