The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Kangana Ranaut set for her biggest role: The ‘outsider’ as the ‘insider’
The actor has held her own in Bollywood against odds. As she enters political arena, that may be her biggest asset
IT WAS but fitting that Kangana Ranaut's political debut began with a controversy.
A day after the BJP announced itwouldfieldthebollywoodactor who is as much in the news on screen as off from Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, Congress social media head Supriya Shrinate found herself on the defensive over a since-deleted disparaging remark against Ranaut that appeared on her social media account (Shrinate later said it had been posted by somebody with accesstoheraccount).rivalsthen started putting out Ranaut's own none-too-flattering remarks against her colleagues.
However, 37-year-old Ranaut would not be where she is – catapulting straight to the top, at the startofherpoliticaljourney–ifshe didn't know how to cause a stir.
For some time now, Ranaut has made her BJP leanings evident, not just in her public remarks and posts, but also the choice of the projects she picks. Her sympathisers would say that to some extent Ranaut has been pushed into this role, with the entrenched Bollywood industry turning its back on her.
The buzz that the BJP would reward Ranaut with a more politicalrole,includingaticket,hasalso been around for some time. Mandi, Ranaut's home district, was perhaps the best choice for this. While the seat is currently held by Congress Himachal chief Pratibha Singh, after she won it in a 2021 bypoll, she has pulled out of the race this time saying “our workers are feeling very low”.
BJP sources said that while there was opposition from some quarters to fielding Ranaut, including from senior Himachal leaders, what outweighed this was the party leadership's keenness to include “vocal personalitiesrepresentingvariouscommunities, who could be BJP ambassadorsindifferentsectors”.
It was from Bhambla in Mandi district that a 16-year-old Ranaut lefthometopursueacareerinacting against her father's wishes. Before she became synonymous with controversy, the young outsider met success fast, with a hit in her first film Gangster (2006), followed by National Award for Supporting Actress in Fashion (2008). She has since notched up Nationalfilmactingnodsforqueen (2014), Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015), Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi (2019) and Panga (2020).
In 2021, Ranaut picked up a Padma Shri.
But the fact that the industry resented the small-town upstart was clear from the very start, beginning with whispers about her accent.ranautfurther“offended” the close clique with her stormy flings, with Aditya Pancholi and Adhyayansuman,andaverypublic spat with Hrithik Roshan – shunningbollywood'shush-hush way about such things.
At the same time, others saw
Ranaut's actions as a calculated marketingmove,withcontroversiescomingjustaheadofarelease.
Her boldest – or most provocative–positionwasagainst “nepotism”, or “movie mafia” as she called it, on the show of that most insider of Bollywood insiders, Karan Johar, in 2017.
Thebignameswouldnottouch herafterthat,ranautclaimed,even as other scandals followed her, includingclaimsthatshesought“undeserved” credit in her films. Prior to this controversy, the Queen’s makershadacknowledgedhereffortsinthefilmasan“additionaldialogue writer”, with Ranaut also doingascriptwritingcourseatthe Newyorkfilmschool.
It was around the time that she became increasingly isolated in Bollywood that Ranaut started turning towards the BJP. This was again seen as a deliberate choice as it coincided with Bollywood feeling the heat from the Modi government.
One might argue that there were bigger names than her also doing the same, but Ranaut went about it like she was used to doing – unabashedly. Films such as Manikarnika, Dhaakad and Tejas – centred around nationalism / patriotism, and revolving around Ranaut's character – followed, though they failed at the box office. After Dhaakad's colossal flop, Ranaut suggested a “conspiracy” against her.
Alongside, the actor polished theimageofadevouthindu,posting images of visits to temples in Himachal.shewasoneoftheinvitees to the Ram Temple consecration ceremony at Ayodhya. On social media, she reposted pro-bjp tweets,especiallypostsfromprime Ministernarendramodi'shandles.
If there is one theme that runs acrossranaut's21-yeararc–from the time she left Mandi to her steady preparation for her new role in politics – it is her ambition and drive. Ranaut has talked about how, growing up in the small town she belongs to, her introduction to films was through Doordarshan, Amitabh Bachchan movies and hit film songs. A brief aspirationtobecomeadoctordue to her interest in science quickly died, and at the age of 16, she moved to Delhi to pursue art and theatre, before shifting to Mumbai and joining an acting school.
A source familiar with the Himachal BJP'S functioning said this is what the party sees in Ranaut.“she’sthefaceofempowerment. She comes from a humble background, comes from a remote area and has become a recognised face and icon despite this.acknowledgingsuchpersonalities is in line with the message the PM wants to send, especially when he is focusing on women empowerment.”
Ranaut's fighting spirit is also the reason many expect her to give the political rough and tumble ahead her best. Many point to her reply to the remark on Shrinate's Instagram handle, featuring a photo of her clad in a bustier. “Dear Supriya ji,” Ranaut wrote, “In the last 20 years of my career... I have played all kinds of women. From a naive girl in Queen to a seductive spy in Dhaakad, from a goddess in Manikarnika to a demon in Chandramukhi, from a prostitute in Rajjo to a revolutionary leader in Thalaivii... We must free our daughters from the shackles of prejudices,wemustriseabovethe curiosity about their body parts and above all we must refrain fromusingsexworkers'challenginglivesorcircumstancesassome kind of abuse or slur... every woman deserves her dignity ...”