The only actress to step out from under the wings of the Bhatt camp and shine on her own, Kangna Ranaut is turning the silver screen gold. With a National Award on her mantelpiece, she has no time for petty one-upmanship, “I don’t think there is any competition as such. Every actor, whether Katrina, Deepika or Priyanka, has a different persona and has performed different roles. Everyone does their job and there is no insecurity: it’s survival of the fittest. I believe in hard work, doing justice to whatever character I’m offered; the rest is destiny. I will surely get offers for the roles I am destined to perform. I feel I have always done only good roles.”
Relatively a new kid on the block, in five years she’s made few true new friends, “I am an introvert and do not party a lot. I have a few college friends who sometimes come for shoots. This really brings happiness to me. As for the industry, we work together and are friends but I do not have any friends in Bollywood. My sisters are more than friends to me. I share all my happiness and sorrows only with them, though of late I have become close to Sanju and Manyata. They are very nice and kind-hearted.”
The Himachal kudi stars in the upcoming Tanu Weds Manu, a rom-com set against the backdrop of Indian wedding mania.
Kangna says, “I play an outgoing girl who has her own terms and conditions in life. This character flows and behaves as she wishes. She unhesitatingly loves to do things which are uncommon. Also she pursues life the way she wants. Not surprisingly, in the film, she wants to marry someone who her parents would dislike.”
She referred to her personal life to develop the character, “I was reminded of one of my theatre friends in Delhi. I copied her free nature and bindaas style of uttering all the cuss words. She would even smoke in style.”
But that’s all for the movies, in real life Kangna would never defy the family code. “I am from a very small and loving middle-class family. I could never do anything that may hurt my father especially. I still remember how he would give me everything I demanded... even if he did not have enough money. We come from a small town and we are quite orthodox when it comes to complying with social norms. But if my thought process would differ from my parents or any other family members, I would try to convince them. And I am sure that if I put across my point of view and if they find it suitable, they won’t disappoint me. My family has always supported me.”
Madhavan, her co-star in the movie, plays the character of her fiance. It’s Kangna’s first film with this South actor. Kangna says geography and star status don’t matter much to her personally, “It does not matter to me if Madhavan belongs to the South film industry. I feel he has done some great work even in Bollywood. A film will do well if it is made genuinely. Everything must fall in place. The script has to be great, that is the real crowd-puller, whereas actors just embellish it by performing the character to the best of their ability. For that matter, I am also pitted opposite Chirag Paswan, a first-timer. But I care for my character more. I have always done different characters because they really appeal to me.”
Where there’s a single girl, there will be rumours, but this Bollywood beauty claims she is still very much unattached, “Earlier when I entered films I was very naive and unhesitatingly disclosed my friendships with some. But then I had a bitter experience and I learnt my lesson. Now I am concentrating on my profession. When the time comes and I find someone suitable I will surely come out in the open.”
Kangna was appreciated for her performance in Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai. A sequel to the film is now in the pipeline but without her in the cast. Kangna says, “I am happy that OUATIM fared well. This hit film has added some importance to my film career. But as I said earlier, I am meant to do different roles and hence prefer to do different characters.”