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Journalism of Courage
It was but fitting that Kangana Ranaut’s political debut began with a controversy.
A day after the BJP announced it would field the Bollywood actor who is as much in the news on screen as off from Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, Congress social media head Supriya Shrinate found herself on the defensive over a since-deleted disparaging remark against Ranaut that appeared on her social media account (Shrinate later said it had been posted by somebody with access to her account). Rivals then started putting out Ranaut’s own none-too-flattering remarks against her colleagues.
However, 37-year-old Ranaut would not be where she is – catapulting straight to the top, at the start of her political journey – if she didn’t know how to cause a stir.
For some time now, Ranaut has made her BJP leanings evident, not just in her public remarks and posts, but also the choice of the projects she picks. Her sympathisers would say that to some extent Ranaut has been pushed into this role, with the entrenched Bollywood industry turning its back on her, leaving her to look for support where she could.
The buzz that the BJP would reward Ranaut with a more political role, including a ticket, has also been around for some time. Mandi, Ranaut’s home district, was perhaps the best choice for this. While the seat is currently held by Congress Himachal chief Pratibha Singh, after she won it in a 2021 bypoll, she has pulled out of the race this time saying “our workers are feeling very low”.
BJP sources said that while there was opposition from some quarters to fielding Ranaut, including from senior Himachal leaders, what outweighed this was the party leadership’s keenness to include “vocal personalities representing various communities, who could be BJP ambassadors in different sectors”.
It was from Bhambla in Mandi district that a 16-year-old Ranaut left home to pursue a career in acting against her father’s wishes. Before she became synonymous with controversy, the young outsider met success fast, with a hit in her first film Gangster (2006), followed by National Award for Supporting Actress in Fashion (2008). She has since notched up National Film acting nods for Queen (2014), Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015), Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi (2019) and Panga (2020).
In 2021, Ranaut picked up a Padma Shri.
But the fact that the industry resented the small-town upstart was clear from the very start, beginning with whispers about her accent. Ranaut further “offended” the close clique with her stormy flings, with Aditya Pancholi and Adhyayan Suman, and a very public spat with Hrithik Roshan – shunning Bollywood’s hush-hush way about such things.
At the same time, others saw Ranaut’s actions as a calculated marketing move, with controversies coming just ahead of a release.
Her boldest – or most provocative – position was against “nepotism”, or “movie mafia” as she called it, on the show of that most insider of Bollywood insiders, Karan Johar, in 2017.
The big names would not touch her after that, Ranaut claimed, even as other scandals followed her, including claims that she sought “undeserved” credit in her films. Prior to this controversy, the Queen’s makers had acknowledged her efforts in the film as an ‘additional dialogue writer’, with Ranaut also doing a scriptwriting course at the New York Film School.
It was around the time that she became increasingly isolated in Bollywood that Ranaut started turning towards the BJP. This was again seen as a deliberate choice as it coincided with Bollywood feeling the heat from the Modi government.
One might argue that there were bigger names than her also doing the same, but Ranaut went about it like she was used to doing – unabashedly.
Films such as Manikarnika, Dhaakad and Tejas – centred around nationalism / patriotism, and revolving around Ranaut’s character – followed, though they failed at the box office. After Dhaakad’s colossal flop, Ranaut suggested a “conspiracy” against her.
Alongside, the actor polished the image of a devout Hindu, posting images of visits to temples in Himachal. She was one of the invitees to the Ram Temple consecration ceremony at Ayodhya, and was captured enthusiastically shouting “Jai Shri Ram”.
On social media, she reposted pro-BJP tweets, especially posts from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s handles. One of her most recent posts was a lament on the health of Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, who is seen as close to the BJP and who recently underwent a brain surgery. “I felt God has collapsed, I felt earth has shifted, sky has abandoned me… He better be fine or sun won’t rise, earth won’t move,” she posted.
If there is one theme that runs across Ranaut’s 21-year arc – from the time she left Mandi with an impossible Bollywood dream, to her steady preparation for her new role in politics – it is her ambition and drive.
Ranaut has talked about how, growing up in the small town she belongs to, her introduction to films was through Doordarshan, Amitabh Bachchan movies and hit film songs. A brief aspiration to become a doctor due to her interest in science quickly died, and at the age of 16, she moved to Delhi to pursue art and theatre, before shifting to Mumbai and joining an acting school.
A source familiar with the Himachal BJP’s functioning said this is what the party sees in Ranaut. “She’s the face of empowerment. She comes from a humble background, comes from a remote area and has become a recognised face and icon despite this. Acknowledging such personalities is in line with the message the PM wants to send, especially when he is focusing on women empowerment.”
Ranaut’s fighting spirit is also the reason many expect her to give the political rough and tumble ahead her best. Many point to her reply to the remark on Shrinate’s Instagram handle, featuring a photo of her clad in a bustier. “Dear Supriya ji,” Ranaut wrote, “In the last 20 years of my career… I have played all kinds of women. From a naive girl in Queen to a seductive spy in Dhaakad, from a goddess in Manikarnika to a demon in Chandramukhi, from a prostitute in Rajjo to a revolutionary leader in Thalaivii… We must free our daughters from the shackles of prejudices, we must rise above the curiosity about their body parts and above all we must refrain from using sex workers’ challenging lives or circumstances as some kind of abuse or slur… every woman deserves her dignity….”
On Tuesday, asked about the Shrinate row, Congress Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said: “She (Kangana) is the daughter of Himachal. Her parents live here. Her father was the general secretary of the Congress in Mandi.”
Meanwhile, her Bollywood quest will continue, Ranaut has said. Come June 14, she will be seen in Emergency – a film that Ranaut has directed, co-produced, and stars in as the lead, Indira Gandhi.
The film would be releasing 10 days after the Lok Sabha poll results; and 13 days before the Emergency anniversary.
