Kangana RanautKnown for her powerful roles in ‘Moda’, she says the film’s success did not immediately lead to better opportunities in Bollywood. Looking back on his journey, the actor recalled that he went through a difficult phase where he often felt he was working below his potential to survive in the industry.Kangana, who recently completed 20 years in cinema, made her debut with Anurag Basu’s ‘Gangster: A Love Story’ in 2006. He received accolades for films like ‘Woh Lamhe’, ‘Life in a… Metro’ and ‘Fashion’. However, it was ‘Regina’ that truly transformed her career and established her as one of Bollywood’s leading stars. Since then, she has starred in several women-oriented films including ‘Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi’, ‘Panga’ and ‘Emergency’.The actor, who is also a BJP MP from Mandi, will be seen in ‘Bharat Bhhagya Viddhaata’. “Whenever you struggle, you have to take that time constructively because life is telling you something and you have to listen. When I was unemployed, when I was struggling, 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? 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, but that led to commercial films like ‘Rascals’ and ‘Dhamaal’. “I knew I was working below my wits. But at the time, I didn’t have that luxury, as people often say today, ‘You should do what you love.’ It’s such a stupid statement. You have to do what you have to do… You have to 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 found 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, they were all between 6 and 6.5 meters tall, and they looked amazing. They were different, they didn’t look ordinary, they looked like extraordinary women,” said the actress.“Finally, 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 (as an ordinary woman). I realized that I have a certain rawness to me, which I got from ‘Gangster’ or ‘Fashion’ or ‘Woh Law’. That’s my USP, the raw talent I have and I’ve cultivated it.”“I’m one of those actors, and my actors would agree, ‘I’ve got a take.’ Let’s go.” I don’t sit down and say, ‘Let’s perfect it, if I get it, that’s fine, if I don’t get it, I’ll do another one.’ But I know actors, who produce their own films, they make 80-90 reproductions… I like mistakes.’After playing former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in her last film, Kangana Ranaut will now take on a simple and straightforward role. In Bharat Bhhagya Viddhaata, she will be seen playing a nurse in a hospital. The 40-year-old said he was delighted to bring to life the bravery of the nurses and children who were the quiet saviors of the nation during the horrific 26/11 attacks in 2008, through the film ‘Bharat Bhhagya Viddhaata’.“The message of the film resonated with me. Mainly because we always feel that some divine savior (will come to save). But when we look at the character sketch (of this film), it’s very obvious that people, who do their job very well and take their job seriously and don’t take themselves seriously, are the people, who live in reality. These people are the most spiritual, the closest to God, the happiest and the most patriotic.“Ranaut in the role of the nurse was fun but challenging. “If you take some liberties with that character, it’s going to be disconnected. So you can’t take any liberties with this character. So with that in mind, you have to stay within it (the character) and it has its fun. It has its challenge. When a character is challenging, it has its fun.”
Stars and creators
‘Bharat Bhhagya Viddhaata’ features an ensemble cast of Girija Oak, Smita Tambe, Amrutha Namdev, Esha Dey, Priya Berde, Asha Shelar, Suhita Thatte, Rasika Aghase, Aditya Mishra and Zahid Khan.The film is bankrolled by PEN Studios, Manikarnika Films and Paramhans Creations along with Eunoia Films LLP and Floating Rocks Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.. The film will release in theaters on June 12.
