Actress-filmmaker and BJP MP Kangana Ranaut, who is gearing up for the release of her next film "Emergency", has spoken about getting threats, politics, Bollywood and filmmaking to IANS.
Read excerpts:
The movie is finally releasing on September 6, How does it feel?
Kangana: "Hopefully. My film got cleared by the censor. And the day we were about to get the certificate a lot of people did a lot of drama. There are a lot of issues with the censor as well. So, I hope it gets released. Because suddenly, as they say, the carpet is pulled from someone's feet. I was very confident that I got the certification. But now they are not giving me my certificate."
And it's getting too late. I hope the film comes on time. Otherwise, I am determined to fight for it. I will even go to court for my film. To protect my right as a person. You can't change the history and threaten us with fears. We must show the history. A nearly 70-year-old woman was shot 30-35 times in her house. Someone must have killed her. Now you want to show it…
"Because apparently, you think you can hurt someone. But you have to show the history. So how did she die?"
"So I said, let's put a plate on the wall that she died because she was shot in the sky. If they are going to suppress the voice of an artiste and my creative liberty… Some people have wielded their guns and we are not afraid of guns. Today, I have got rape threats. I am also getting rape threats, but they can't suppress my voice."
What would you say to those who have been saying that Kangana does resemble Indira Gandhi more than the fact that the former PM is performing on the reel?
Kangana: "That is a really nice compliment. It is such a heartwarming compliment. And I have heard it a lot. And there is a very senior critic also, he too said you are more Indiraji than Indiraji herself. Kudos to all the departments. Starting with prosthetics to the hair department, costumes, makeup. Such a fantastic job they have done."
"And of course, the body language that I have adapted. And really, it is a cinematic moment that has come together with the biographies which Hollywood always likes. Whether it is Lincoln, Margaret Thatcher, or Oppenheimer. We have done it to such a level that people are talking about our performance in India about biopics. I really like it."
What all research went behind in making "Emergency"?
Kangana: "First of all, when you have a passionate engagement with a story, you get completely submerged into it. And then there are many departments. Like, there are departments for research too. They do extensive research about costumes. And luckily, with Mrs. Gandhi, unlike any other politicians of her time, like Shastri ji, Sardar Vallabhai Patel, they were very media shy.
But Mrs. Gandhi loved the media. Even during the Bangladesh war and everything in the war room, she is being documented in the war room. You have so much of her footage everywhere. She loved to be clicked and papped. She loved to do her PR too. Which I think is so cool. And we have got so many recreations.
"Since 'Emergency' is based on Indira Gandhi, does Kangana intend to call the Gandhi family for the screening of her film?" Kangana: "I would love to. But I am sure that they will not accept my invitation because they have a lot of bitterness especially for me. I have already received so many notices from the Supreme Court about my comments… I am also a parliamentarian.".
"I am also supposed to comment about their comments, but they have objections with that, too. I hope, if not for my screening, that they see the film and judge it very objectively, that they enjoy the film and I am sure they have kind words to say if they want to. Let's see."
Does being so bluntly honest involve a price to be paid?
"Yes, you have to pay the price for that. And sometimes you go in territories where you say, 'I am absolutely lost because with roles changing and landscapes changing, your driving needs to change.
It means, when you are an individual, you are a different person, and when you have been very individualistic and on your own for way too long-for way too long-you have been looking after yourself, looking after all the pros and cons, and whatever comes along with being honest and independent.
"So, even if you have a big family, Or even if you have a big organisation or party, To have your back, And to support you, And to guide you, Or even to protect you, You know, you keep forgetting that. You totally forget that. That I have so many people who are with me today. You know, associated with me. And I have to walk with all of them. And not just have my own race, you know. So, I need to just condition myself. Also, you have a really long journey in the Hindi film drama."
What is more daunting between acting and filmmaking?
Kangana: "No, acting is not daunting at all…. I think acting for me is too passive….I just hate being an actor. I just despise it with so much intensity. That I cannot tell you because the moment you come to the set and you're always looking 'what's happening? You know, What's going on? Which scene are you doing? You are just always wondering, What's going on? And besides, you wonder, what's going on with my life? What am I doing? You know, so much time is getting wasted. And we all have such limited time. And these are the best years of my life."
"And then there's the AD, who says 'we are ready' and when you're ready. Then it's 'wait, wait'. Even if you're the main lead. You know, I hate it. Being a director, I love being a director. You know, You ask me, 'what's going on? I know. 'I'll tell you.' I think I'm one of those, better directors, you know, who understand how vulnerable it is to be an actor. You know, actors are my favourite people on the sets.
"They're just my favourite people because I know what's going on in their minds. You know, so I like to take care of them. I tell them, 'come sit here', 'see, this is going on now'. I love to guide them. You know, I don't like being an actor," he said.
What about being a parliamentary, is that daunting?
"Being a parliamentarian is just too daunting. It's just way too daunting. I fall short of for that job; I need to be more, should be more. It just never ends and there is no limit to the extend one can give. So many people, so much to be done. And, like, I always complain about that, I am a parliamentarian from Mandi. But, the calls come from all states.
"You know, all, all kinds of problems and, At times I address, and then I'm like, is it even my job. That I'm getting from. All across the country? So, what is the extent, till you can give, and you can do? And especially, When there are natural calamities, and you just find yourself, just being, a little speck in the cosmos. You are not even a speck, like nothingness, like non-existent, like you just don't exist, like you're a bubble, to be precise."
"And then you're faced with that sort of existential crisis-why am I in this position of helping people, where I myself am in such a bubble, I have no control over anything. Whereas being a filmmaker is a very gratifying job; you feel so good about yourself. You feel that I did this, you know, I made this film, I did so good and all that."
But being a parliamentarian, you're always feeling, 'what is to be done? Like what can I do?' Of course, you can help people with policies, you can help them build homes, build roads, you get them pension, you solve their problems, but far and few, because they already know the path how to do that.
Most of 'em just come to you and they're all, like, your organs have failed, or my child is missing, or my husband has left me, or this mountain has fallen on my family. You're like, Oh my God, how am I even supposed to cope with all of this? There's so much pain in the world. I just feel that as a parliamentarian, as a person in power… I am just constantly thinking of people who are way ahead in the hierarchy, and just keep thinking, how do they run the whole nation?
"I just collapse running my own house. Nothing is happening. Everything has crashed, the kitchen has crashed, the cook has left, you know, the AC, And the house is just not functioning, no matter how hard you try. As a working woman, You just feel that, It's so hard to make a house run. How do they do it?
I don't know, I just, I never found myself getting anxious thinking over something, but thinking about my duties, as a parliamentarian, and the vastness of this job, is definitely something I need to up my game."
Will acting take a back seat for you?
Kangana: "No, I just, I just feel that when I was looking for actors. And when my actor said yes to me. It was such a life changing moment.
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