Kangana Ranaut reflects on career struggles, calls ‘fashion’ phase a turning point

Actor and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut reflected on her early career struggles, saying success after Fashion did not come immediately. She credited films like Queen for establishing her identity as she prepares for her upcoming release Bharat Bhagya Viddhaata

Mumbai: The success of “Fashion” did not translate into movies, says actor Kangana Ranaut, recalling a period of struggle where she worked bellow her intelligence to sustain herself in the industry. The actor-BJP MP from Mandi, who will be next seen in “Bharat Bhhagya Viddhaata”, has completed 20 years in the industry that began with a hit debut in 2006 with Anurag Basu’s “Gangster: A Love Story”.

She established herself with films like “Woh Lamhe”, “Life in Metro”, “Fashion”, before gaining stardom with “Queen”. She subsequently went on to headline powerful women-oriented movies like “Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi”, “Panga”, and “Emergency”, among others.

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“Whenever you struggle, you should take that time constructively because life is saying something to you and you have to listen to it. When I didn’t have a job, when I struggled, at that time, I asked myself a lot of questions, like, ‘Why am I not getting a job? Why am I not able to do anything better? This phase was after 2007-2008 when even after ‘Fashion’, I didn’t get a job,” the actor told PTI in an interview.

Ranaut said she was told to hire a manager who worked for top stars and she did exactly that, but it led her to commercial films like “Rascals” and “Dhamaal”.

“I knew that I was working below my intelligence. But at that time, I didn’t have that luxury, as people often say today: ‘You should do what you love’. It is such a stupid statement. You should do what is needed… You should do what you can do, you can’t do what you can’t do.”

Ranaut, who later went on to direct and produce films, said she finally tasted success when she played “ordinary” women in films like “Queen” and “Tanu Weds Manu”. “When I came to the film industry, all the actresses were Miss World, supermodels, foreigners, all of them were 6 to 6.5 feet tall, and they looked amazing. They were different, they didn’t look ordinary, they looked like extraordinary women,” said the Himachal Pradesh-born actor.

“Eventually, I got success when I played the role of an ordinary girl, be it Datto (from ‘Tanu Weds Manu Returns’) or ‘Queen’. When I came here, there was no one around (like an ordinary woman). I realized that there is a certain rawness to me, which I got from ‘Gangster’ or ‘Fashion’ or ‘Woh Lamhe’, and that there is a certain rawness to me. So, I felt that this is my USP, the raw talent that I’ve and I worked on it.” The actor said that spontaneity reflects in her acting style as well.

“I’m one of those actors, and my co-actors would agree that, ‘I’ve got one take. Let’s go.’ I don’t sit around and say, ‘Let’s go and perfect it, if I get it, it’s fine, if I don’t get it, I will do one more.’ But I know of actors, who produce their own films, they do 80-90 takes… I like imperfections.”

After her last big screen outing as former prime minister Indira Gandhi, Ranaut is returning to playing an ordinary woman in her new film, which will see her as a hospital nurse.

The 40-year-old said she thrilled to bring to life the bravery of the nurses and ward boys, who became the nation’s quiet saviours during the 26/11 dastardly attacks in 2008, through her film, “Bharat Bhhagya Viddhaata”. “The message of the film has resonated with me a lot. Especially because we always feel that some divine saviour (will come to save us).

But when we look at the character sketch (of this film), it is very evident that the people, who do their job very well and take their work seriously and don’t take themselves seriously, they are the people, who are living in reality. These people are the most spiritual, closest to God, the happiest, and most patriotic.” Ranaut said playing the role of a nurse in her new film, written and directed by Manoj Tapadia, was fun yet challenging.

“If you take a little liberty with that character, it will get disconnected. So, you can’t take any liberty with this character. So, keeping that in mind, within that you have to be (the character) and it has its own fun. It has its own challenge. When a character is challenging, it has its own fun.”

Set largely within the charged confines of the Cama hospital, the film narrates the story of nurses and ward boys who became the nation’s quiet saviours during the 26/11 dastardly attacks.

“Bharat Bhhagya Viddhaata” boasts of an ensemble cast including Girija Oak, Smita Tambe, Amrutha Namdev, Esha Dey, Priya Berde, Asha Shelar, Suhita Thatte, Rasika Aghase, Aditya Mishra and Zahid Khan.

The film is produced by PEN Studios, Manikarnika Films, and Paramhans Creations, in association with Eunoia Films LLP and Floating Rocks Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. It is slated to release in theatres on June 12.