It's lonely on the way to the top

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She’s not one to sit back and admire her National Award for Fashion sitting pretty on her mantle. With Milan Luthria’s Once Upon a Time… set for release Kangana Ranaut is out to prove she’s a star and she’s not afraid of the hard work that goes with the territory even if it means going off the radar while she’s at it.

“I’ve been lying low because I’ve been shooting continuously. After Fashion I’ve become a bit choosy, yes, but I’m getting good roles. I have Tanu Weds Manu and then there’s Game in December. Anees Bazmee’s No Problem is on the anvil, I’ve signed Mani Shankar’s Knock Out, then there’s Rohan Sippy’s Dum Maro Dum and Tanveer Khan’s One and Only for which I start shooting soon. What more could I ask for?”
The impetus to keep her nose to the grindstone comes from a deep seated fear of unemployment that dates back to her early days as a model in Delhi. “Many times I wake up thinking, if I don’t get work any more, where will I go? What will I do? When I look at the National Award I’m reminded of the days when I roamed the streets of Delhi in a daze, not knowing what I wanted from the future or where it would lead me. When I look at what I’ve achieved today, I thank God the struggle paid off but I know I have to keep working hard.”
She’s excited about her role in Once Upon a Time, which could become her stepping stone to more success. “I play a character in the 50’s and 60’s — a mix of Madhubala and Sona. Haji Mastan admired Madhubala and he was dating Sona. As part of my research, I got to meet Sona to know what she was like. It’s a very interesting character and I thoroughly enjoyed playing it.”
Standing out in a crowd and being part of an ensemble cast doesn’t faze Kangana, “Yes, you cannot do much in an ensemble cast. When I worked in an ensemble cast for Metro and Fashion, I didn’t watch what everyone else was doing and that made my role easy. I am a director’s actor and rely completely on the director.” This is her first pairing opposite Ajay Devgn, “Ajay is one intense actor. I feel every actor must experience working with him once. He is very calm, quiet, and happy in his own space. I’d heard rumours that he’s very naughty but I think it’s just a myth — I found him quiet, sorted and he doesn’t talk much.”
The actress is looking forward to a spate of comedies, “No Problem is my first comedy. I had a blast on the sets. I worked with Anil Kapoor, Paresh Rawal, and Sanjay Dutt for the first time. It was fun. Sushmita Sen was the sweetest of them all. I think I should do more comedies now!”
The girl from the hills has struggled with her personal life. Rocky relationships, questionable partner choices (with Aditya Panscholi and Adhyanan Suman), she’s made news as much off-screen as on-screen. But she has no regrets, “They were a part of my life and I’ve spent some good times with them. I neither regret the past nor consider it all important. There are so many things inspiring about the present that it all seems insignificant now.
Unfortunately, my relationships were projected as huge issues when they were but a small part of my life. Whether they were amazing, inspirational or forgettable, no one knows what sort of relationships I’ve had, only I know what it was all about and I don’t wish to revive them either.”
And speaking of relationships, does she miss her family? “Of course I do! But they have work and commitments,” she asserts. “My sister comes sometimes and stays with me but she’s getting married soon. My family is lovely and I’ve been trying to convince them to come live with me. Maybe I’ll succeed eventually.”
Eight films old, the actress still feels like an outsider in the industry, “I am nobody here. It is difficult. Nobody knows me here. I have no friends too. I believe the film industry is a small community of different groups and because each one has his own group, to make it to the top one has to favour them. They don’t let outsiders in. They want to convince other people that no one can make it here.
However, if you look at the career graph of the top stars they have all been outsiders who have made it to the top — Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar rule box office success today.”