Mumbai: Nihaar Pandya, who is making his Bollywood debut with the Kangana Ranaut-starrer Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, will be seen essaying the pivotal role of Baji Rao II.


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"For me to debut as an iconic character of Baji Rao II is challenging and exciting. To get every nuance of the character perfect I underwent multiple acting workshops and an extreme makeover.


"The strenuous war scenes of the film required me to learn horse riding and sword fighting from Nicholas Powell, one of the best Hollywood action directors who has directed action in films like Braveheart and Gladiator," Nihaar said.


Manikarnika, produced by Kamal Jain and Zee Studios and directed by Kriah Jagarlamudi, will see Nihaar share screen space with acting powerhouses like Kangana, Atul Kulkarni and Danny Denzongpa.


"I've just returned from the film's shoot in Jaipur and I'm looking forward to the next schedule," he said.


In July, Nihaar had accidentally hit Kangana's forehead with his aluminium sword, causing a deep wound.


Recalling the incident, Nihaar said: "Kangana is a thorough professional.. She is different as soon as the camera is on. I'm glad she treated the accident so well and continued shooting. I was troubled more by questions thrown at me from the media. She was very accommodating and eased the situation as it was a timing issue leading to the accident."