Kangana Ranaut tells Divya Kaushik how her confidence helped her cope with tough times, why she didn’t want to be the ‘second best’ person in films and why it was important to improve her diction and style sense
Despite giving good performances in blockbusters like Fashion and Gangster, Kangana Ranaut was often written off by critics, was labelled to do certain kind of roles and was deemed fit for supporting characters. But the actress seems to have an appetite for constructive criticism. She took note of what was being said and paved her path to success. She admits she worked on her diction, acting skills and style sense, but not to prove anything to anyone in the industry but for her own good and happiness. “One should take note of criticism but also should keep in mind where it is coming from and if it is genuine or not. Criticism is part of everybody’s life as there is no way that everyone would like everything you do. But whatever change I have brought in myself in all these years is not because I faced criticism, it is because I wanted to change. There are so many actors in the industry who do not have proper diction or style sense and still they are successful. You should be happy the way you are. I never want to be like someone or transform myself because some people think I should, it is just because I want to reach out to people as best version of my own self,” said Kangana, who was recently here to promote her film Queen.
She plays the central character called Rani in the film, who faces issues like low self-esteem and low self confidence. “Rani is a fictional character but it is portrayed in a way that every girl would relate to it. I personally do not relate to Rani, as I have never faced confidence issues in my life. Ever since I entered the industry, I have gone through many phases, have faced lows, but my confidence helped me cope with difficult times. The only issue that I personally face is what I ultimately want to achieve. What is my long-term goalIJ There were many things that I wanted to achieve when I entered the industry, like I wanted to travel the world, live in different countries and I have achieved that but when sometimes I think what is it that I ultimately want in life, I have no answer,” shared the actress and added that things like travelling and writing help her come out of difficult phases. “Different people have different ways to destress. Writing and travelling are two things that always work wonders for me. I would love to come up with a book some day, I really enjoy putting down my thoughts on paper,” she said.
After essaying strong supporting characters in films like Fashion and Krrish, Kangana is focussing on the roles of strong women characters. After Rajjo, it is Queen and next will be Revolver Rani. “It is a personal choice to opt for such characters. I have worked hard to prove myself and why should I accept some secondary roles when I am getting the bestIJ I don’t want to work with Khans, I only want to work in stories that give me a chance to display my potential as an important character. But I am not denying the importance of supporting characters in the story. The credit for my success also goes to important characters that I played in films like Fashion and Krrish,” she said.
She had a ball shooting with director Vikas Bahl and travelling across the globe for Queen. “I always say an actor should trust the director’s vision to come up with the best. I have always preferred working with young directors. They offer me unconventional roles. I am enjoying working with directors like Anand l Rai and Vikas,” she said.
Real deal
Vikas Bahl grew up in Delhi and always wanted to come up with the story wherein he can describe all his experiences. He got a chance with Queen but it was not as easy. “I was writing the story for two years and it took me 10 drafts to get the story right. It is difficult to make a simple and entertaining story,” explained the director, who earlier made Chillar Party. Vikas has always chosen to narrate real and simple stories in his films and that’s because he personally likes “films that present real stories in an interesting manner.”
Queen has been shot over 150 locations in 45 days and Vikas says that those were the best days of his life. “This film has been inspired by people I see in real life. I think we plan our lives too much, like we will study till a certain age, we will marry at a certain age and so on. So here is this story of a girl who plans her life and the very first plan goes wrong for her. So what nowIJ Rani represents so many people whose lives are planned by people around them and they are happy that way,” he explained. Kangana Ranaut was his first choice to play the character. “I thought she will be familiar with the character as she has grown up in the same world as Rani,” he said.
Director’s actor
Shooting for Queen was like being on a holiday and chilling at destinations like Paris and Amsterdam for Rajkumar Rao. The actor who recently won an award for his film Shahid says he was impressed by the story and thus decided to be a part of it. “I saw a lot of scope in the story. My character in the film goes through a transformation, from being a chichora Delhi boy to the one who returns from london after achieving a lot. You will see a physical transformation of the character and I had to work hard to get that right,” shared the actor, who thoroughly enjoyed working with Kangana and director Vikas Bahl. “I truly believe that an actor and director should trust each other to make the film successful,” he said.
After achieving acclaim for Shahid, Rajkumar is working in Hansal Mehta’s next, City lights. “It is being produced by Mahesh Bhatt and Fox Star Studios. I have enjoyed working with a director like Hansal Mehta and he is the closest person to me in Mumbai,” he said.