Alia keeps it simple, believes truth is truth, lie a lie, Taapsee Pannu, Anubhav Sinha take cheeky digs at Ranaut, but veteran actress Simi Garewal lauds Ranaut for her courage
By Anannya Srusti
The firebrand Kangana Ranaut in conversation with the no-holds-barred news anchor Arnab Goswami. There was bound to be an explosion. Bollywood’s alleged nepotism, gangism made headlines in this conversation, but Ranaut didn’t shy from grading [rather degrading] some artistes too. Ranaut’s exclusive interview to Arnab Goswami, Managing Director, Editor-in-chief, Co-founder and owner of Republic TV, has evoked some interesting reactions. As expected, the likes of Alia Bhatt, Karan Johar, Aditya Chopra were targeted by Ranaut but the Panga [2020] actress also made some eye-popping remarks against fellow artistes Taapsee Pannu and Swara Bhasker.
During her interview, Kangana labelled Taapsee Pannu and Swara Bhaskar as ‘needy outsiders’ and ‘B-grade actresses who warm up to a legacy studio owner like Karan Johar. The Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi (2019) actress said, “What I want to convey through this interview is… for me, I have only to lose here, because I know tomorrow they will get some 20 needy outsiders like Taapsee Pannu or Swara Bhasker who will get up and say, ‘Oh! Only Kangana has problems with nepotism. We love Karan Johar’.” Ranaut further questioned, “If you love Karan Johar, why are you both B grade actresses? You are both better looking than Alia Bhatt and Ananya. You both are better actresses. Why don’t you get work? Your whole existence is proof of nepotism. What are you telling me about how happy you are with the industry?”
Taapsee Pannu, didn’t name Ranaut in her tweet, but she looked at the lighter side of being rated by her.
“Maine suna class 12th n 10th ke result ke baad humaara result bhi aa gaya hai! Humaara grade system ab official hai ? Abhi tak toh number system pe value decide hoti thi na #MaLifeMaRulesMaShitMaPot (I heard that after classes 12 and 10, our results are also out! Are we officially following the grade system too? Before this, we were graded on numbers right?),” tweeted Pannu.
Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions had distributed the dubbed Hindi version of The Ghazi Attack [2017] where Pannu had played a pivotal role. Bhasker though has never worked in a Dharma Productions film.
Swara Bhasker was in no mood to trigger any war with Kangana but she simply took Ranaut’s comments as a compliment.
Bhasker tweeted, “Needy outsider- B grade actress (But) – better looking & better actor than Alia Bhatt & Ananya!’ Net net I think this was a compliment! Thanks Kangana! I think u are gorgeous, generous & a great actor! Shine on #KanganaSpeaksToArnab #Nepotism @KanganaTeam”
It’s been a while since Ranaut has been openly mocking Alia Bhatt. As always, the Gully Boy [2019] actress chose to give a measured response.
‘Truth will be truth and lies will be lies,’ Alia Bhatt posted on her Instagram story.
Ranaut had questioned how Alia Bhatt received an [Filmfare] award for a 10-minute role in ‘Gully Boy’ [2019], while ‘Chhichhore’ [2019] went unnoticed. She questioned that if she could receive ‘Padma Shri’ for ‘Manikarnika’, then why not another award. She was also surprised with Zoya Akhtar getting the ‘best director award’ over Nitesh Tiwari for ‘Chhichhore’.
Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha, who has directed Taapsee Pannu in Mulk [2018] and Thappad [2019], didn’t really comment on Ranaut’s interview but posted this cryptic tweet perhaps mocking at Ranaut’s talking style and maybe labeling her as a narcissistic person.
There were some who also came out in support of Ranaut. Veteran actress Simi Garewal lauded Ranaut for her courage.
“I applaud #KanganaRanaut who is braver & bolder than I am. Only I know how a ‘powerful’ person has viciously tried to destroy my career. I stayed silent. Because I am not so brave…”, Garewal tweeted.
Forlorn actor and Ranaut’s former boyfriend Adhyayan Suman, who has earlier criticized Ranaut in her fight against Hrithik Roshan, backed the Panga actress in her long battle against [alleged] nepotism.
Adhyayan Suman tweeted, “BRAVE ! ….. #KanganaSpeaksToArnab #KanganaRanaut Time for the rules to change ! I know shekhar jis efforts won’t go in vain now ! Truth shall prevail ! #SushanthSinghRajput #justiceforSushantforum #shekharsuman”
And as always, Ranaut didn’t spare producer Karan Johar accusing him of trying to label Sushant Singh Rajput a flop actor by opting to release their film Drive [2019] on Netflix and not in theaters. Ranaut has vowed that if all her claims are proven wrong, she will return her Padma Shri award.
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Beyond Bollywood 