'The Woman King' is a film for the rest of time: Lashana Lynch

British star Lashana Lynch is confident that her latest film ''The Woman King'' will stand the test of time as she believes the movie explores enduring themes of equality and leadership.

Headlined by Oscar winner Viola Davis, the Gina Prince-Bythewood-directed period actioner follows an all-female warrior unit tasked to protect the African kingdom of Dahomey in the 19th century.

Lynch, who is part of the ensemble cast along with John Boyega, Thuso Mbedu and Sheila Atim, credited Bythewood and screenwriter Dana Stevens for presenting a unique interpretation of a historical story to the modern audience.

''She did a really good job at striking a balance between telling a historical story but also humanising this group of people to let these characters reverberate throughout history.

''I think that this isn't a film for now, nor is it a film for the past. It's a film for the rest of time,'' the actor told PTI in a virtual roundtable interview.

The story of "The Woman King" follows Davis' character General Nanisca, the leader of the all-female group of warriors called the Agojie and how she trains the next generation of warriors to fight enemies.

Lynch, who made a name for herself with performances in films such as ''Captain Marvel'' and ''No Time To Die'', plays the role of Izogie, a veteran member of the Agojie.

The 34-year-old actor said Bythewood did an amazing job in depicting each character as contemporary as possible.

''It is really important to let these characters shine through in a way that doesn't just fix them into one place in history and in time. We have an amalgamation of themes, feelings, personalities and intricate storylines within the story that enables the audience to relate in a different way,'' she added.

The most fascinating aspect about the story, Lynch said was the fact that the kingdom of Dahomey and its ruler, King Gizo (Boyega), were ahead of their time.

''It was really cool having King Gizo hire both men and women equally to be soldiers. The fact that we had such an advanced thinking at that time to ensure that women had the same outlook, the same possibilities and the same thinking from their leader was amazing.

''And there are many examples of female armies around the world within history, but this one in particular, to have them be as empowered as they were in their minds is really important to me as a Black woman,'' she said. According to Lynch, ''The Woman King'' is an action film first and then a historical as she along with Davis and Atim had to work extra hard to get the stunts right.

''It's nice to have entered this world because even though we've been in a part of physical films, being able to do your own stunts for an entire film is a different experience that I can't liken into anything else actually.

''I feel really grateful that I am physical, I've played sports and went to the gym, which I thought would be enough of a foundation to do my own stunt, but it was not,'' the actor said. It is a rarity in film business where an actor is able to embody and shape the character even before reading the script, she added.

And ''The Woman King'' provided her with that experience.

''It feels great to be able to be physically in command of your character and to be able to shape them before you've even harnessed a script, which doesn't always happen. ''I feel great that my body is capable of things that I never thought it was capable of. And that I was pushed to a different level after Gina was very kindly asked if I could do my own stunts. So, I'm glad that I was able to rise the challenge,'' Lynch added. With ''The Woman King'', there was no ceiling in terms of how far actors could push themselves, said Lynch's co-star Atim, who essays the role of Azogie warrior Amenza.

''My previous action experiences have been limited by maybe the size of my role or just by how it all fits in. But I think for this project, they just said, 'Go for gold and keep pushing'.

''It wasn't the case where you only had to get to a level of fitness and then that's it. But here, throughout the process, we were constantly trying to increase our weight when we were training,'' she added.

Atim, known for featuring in Barry Jenkins' series ''The Underground Railroad'' and Netflix's sports drama ''Bruised'', said the team spent months training for the complex stunts sequences of the film.

''It was different in the sense that the horizon was really broad for what we were able to achieve. It really was just up to us to keep on pushing the envelope,'' she added.

''The Woman King'', produced by Cathy Schulman, Davis, Julius Tennon and Maria Bello, will be released by Sony Pictures Entertainment India on October 14 in English and Tamil.

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