Not
a
day
seems
to
go
by
without
Kangana
Ranaut's
mention
in
the
media,
whether
or
not
she
has
a
movie
in
the
pipeline.
Recently,
the
Manikarnika
actress
was
involved
in
an
ugly
spat
with
a
journalist,
whom
she
accused
of
running
a
smear
campaign
against
her.
One
must
admit
one
didn't
think
much
of
Kangana
Ranaut
in
her
initial
years
in
Bollywood.
Sure,
she
made
us
look
up
and
take
notice
of
her
in
her
debut,
Gangster
(2006).
For
the
longest
time,
to
me,
she
was
Simran
and
not
Kangana
and
that
is
a
victory
for
any
actor
-
to
be
known
by
her
character
name
from
a
movie.
Though
there
were
spirited
performances
in
films
like
Fashion
(2008)
for
which
she
won
the
National
Film
Award
for
Best
Supporting
Actress,
one
soon
became
tired
of
the
stereotypes
she
played.
A
neurotic
woman
who
was
ready
to
slash
her
wrists
at
the
drop
of
a
hat.
It
seemed
for
filmmakers,
the
order
of
the
day
was
if
there
was
a
character
that
was
a
drug
addict
or
one
who
was
unable
to
move
on
from
a
toxic
relationship,
sign
Kangana.
Things
turned
for
the
better
for
Kangana
Ranaut
with
Tanu
Weds
Manu
(2011)
and
Queen
(2014).
It
looked
like
the
outsider
had
taken
on
Bollywood
royalty
and
come
out
on
the
other
side.
I'm
frankly
a
little
worried
for
the
ladies
who
are
reprising
her
in
the
South
Indian
remakes
of
Queen.
In
between,
I
must
mention
her
relevant
interviews
on
The
Front
Row
With
Anupama
Chopra
and
other
stints
on
the
Hindustan
Times
Summit
and
the
like,
where
she
spoke
about
the
problems
of
nepotism
with
restraint.
This
was
before
Queen.
It
all
changed
the
day
the
blue-eyed
boy
of
Bollywood,
Hrithik
Roshan,
slapped
a
legal
suit
on
Kangana
Ranaut
for
her
'silly-ex'
remark,
where
she
was
referring
to
him.
And
our
Queen
was
no
longer
holding
it
back.
Suddenly,
the
floodgates
had
opened.
Not
only
did
she
take
the
bull
by
its
horns
by
sending
a
counter-notice
to
Hrithik
Roshan,
but
also
savagely
trolled
Bollywood's
despot-in-chief
Karan
Johar
for
being
intolerant
to
outsiders.
'Movie
mafia',
'flag
bearer
of
nepotism'
are
a
few
phrases
that
anyone
is
unlikely
to
forget
if
you
had
watched
the
now
infamous
Koffee
With
Karan
episode
wherein
Kangana
blasted
KJo.
Star
World
got
more
than
its
promo,
if
you
know
what
we
are
referring
to
(wink
wink).
Kangana
is
not
entirely
in
the
wrong
here
as
Karan
Johar
himself
had
admitted
in
an
interview
to
film
critic
Anupama
Chopra
that
his
interest
in
launching
actress
Alia
Bhatt
stemmed
from
the
fact
that
she
is
filmmaker
Mahesh
Bhatt's
daughter.
But
again,
he
wasn't
used
to
anyone
saying
it
in-your-face
to
him
as
Kangana
did.
Karan
retaliated
by
asking
Kangana
to
leave
the
industry
if
she
felt
suffocated
by
it.
Intolerant
to
outsiders,
much?
Point
taken.
So
far,
so
good,
Kangana.
As
Vidya
Balan
pointed
out
during
the
promotions
of
Te3n,
"It's
very
creditable
that
she
is
standing
up
for
herself
because
as
women
we
find
it
easy
to
stand
up
for
everyone
else
but
ourselves...
We
stand
up
for
our
fathers,
husbands,
children
and
parents
but
we
rarely
stand
up
for
ourselves.
So
kudos
and
more
power
to
her," she
added.
In
showbiz,
we
have
heard
of
hush-hush
affairs
and
heroines
not
daring
to
come
out
for
the
fear
of
repercussions,
forever.
It
seemed
like
Kangana
had
won
round
one.
While
the
Hrithik
saga
died
a
natural
death
only
to
resurface
a
little
later
during
the
promotions
of
Super
30,
the
actress'
fight
with
nepotism
wasn't
over
yet.
At
an
award
function,
actors
Saif
Ali
Khan
and
Varun
Dhawan
along
with
Karan
Johar
trolled
Kangana
Ranaut,
that
too,
in
her
absence!
All
three
men
are,
incidentally,
products
of
nepotism.
Though
the
feathers
had
been
ruffled
earlier,
now
we
had
to
admit
that
there
had
been
no
smoke
without
fire.
The
men
in
question
had
tendered
their
apologies
to
Kangana,
except
Hrithik,
and
it
looked
like
she
had
won
again.
Round
two
in
bounty
as
well.
But
nepotism
or
not,
Kangana
Ranaut
continued
to
be
in
the
news.
She
was
accused
of
taking
away
writing
credits
or
'hijacking'
movies
under
the
nose
of
the
director
or
writer,
but
we
steadfastly
stayed
by
her.
Manikarnika:
The
Queen
of
Jhansi
was
not
the
blockbuster
she
was
dreaming
of,
but
it
clearly
announced
that
there's
more
to
her
than
acting.
Now,
where
did
it
all
go
haywire?
For
the
incessant
jibes
at
Alia
Bhatt,
who's
not
only
younger
than
the
actress
but
is
a
power-house
performer
as
well,
debunking
the
theory
that
all
nepotism
products
lack
great
acting
chops.
One's
tired
with
her
perceived
slights
from
Taapsee
Pannu
as
well.
A
role
model
is
not
one
who
calls
out
the
injustice
alone
but
one
who's
gracious
and
forgiving
as
well.
Clearly,
Kangana
has
lost
on
both
accounts.
Further,
during
the
Lok
Sabha
Elections
2019,
Kangana
Ranaut
openly
portrayed
her
awe
of
the
ruling
party
and
Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi.
The
statements
employed
by
her
and
the
likes
of
actors
Anupam
Kher
and
Vivek
Oberoi
bordered
on
fandom
rather
than
serious
political
following.
The
final
straw
came
when
she
got
into
an
ugly
spat
with
a
reporter
at
a
song
screening
of
her
upcoming
entertainer,
Judgementall
Hai
Kya.
Kangana
doesn't
seem
to
have
taken
lightly
the
critique
of
her
last
outing
Manikarnika
by
the
reporter.
Sure,
I've
watched
Manikarnika.
Did
I
think
it
was
a
good
film?
Did
I
like
it?
Not
in
the
least!
Does
that
mean
I,
as
a
media
professional,
am
a
'desh-drohi'
(traitor)?
Dear
Kangana
Ranaut,
don't
I
have
a
right
to
critique
your
film
without
being
branded
'anti-national'?
At
a
time
when
there
have
been
cases
like
the
murder
of
journalist
Gauri
Lankesh
for
daring
to
raise
her
voice
against
the
growing
intolerance
and
right-wing
officiated
violence,
to
brand
journalists
who
don't
agree
with
you,
as
'tenth-fail',
'nalayak',
'desh-drohi',
'fishing
for
free
food',
etc.,
is
sadly
misinformed.
The
latest
salvo
from
Kangana
is
a
legal
notice
on
journalists
who
had
orchestrated
a
boycott
of
her
through
the
newly-formed
Entertainment
Journalists
Guild
of
India.
Once
upon
a
time,
Kangana
Ranaut
took
on
bullies.
Today,
she
IS
the
bully.
(Views
are
of
the
author's)