squeals at her boss for rebuking her (which, apparently, was a creation of Kangana herself), but simultaneously drawn to her maniacal persona. I relat- ed to her self-discovery as Rani in Queen and to desperation as Tanuja Trivedi in Tanu Weds Manu Returns. I fell hard for Datto when she held her head high and walked out of her own wedding to avoid being tied down in a loveless marriage. Every film she does leaves me wanting to see more of the film – even as the movie ended. I want- ed to encroach upon Rani’s new jour- ney, and identify the road map of Datto’s life. She gives you a piece of her- self in each of her films. Kangana is way ahead of all the over rated Deepikas, Anushkas and Kajols. Apart from Priyanka and Rani Mukherji, no current Bollywood actress can comes close to her as far as performances are con- cerned. Kangana remains a role model for many women in India, dominated by patriarchs and inherent gender biases. Here’s why: 1. Her humble beginnings: Kangana revolted and walked out of her traditional, son-loving home at the tender age of 16. Her parents want- ed her to be a respected doctor, but,
deduce that he is after publicity. Ironically, at this juncture, her first ex, Aditya Pancholi,who physically abused her when she was just a child (16), emerged the best of the three, merely by staying silent. I did not start this piece to defend either Kangana or Roshan. I don’t know the whole truth, none of us do (if any- one is curious about the historical emer- gence of events that led to the Ranaut- Roshan legal war, please see http://www.opnlttr.com/letter/not- buying-what-youre-selling-open-letter- hrithik-roshan). Nevertheless, as a mother of two young adults, I did ponder on the fact that Kangana must have been merely 21 when this “affair” started, versus Roshan’s 36, a fourteen years gap! She was barely a child – an alone and strug- gling outsider just coming out of two abusive relationships. Yet, through her strong sense of self and ideology (for example, she very early on refused to be the ambassador of a fairness cream; just for comparison, Shah Rukh endorses it), Kangana strode on with gritting perse- verance leaving her failed relationships behind. In addition she built a strong
career, learnt new skills and bettered her personality, and how! Any mother would be proud of her. Any sister would want to follow her. Any observer would want to applaud the wonderful anomaly that is Kangana Ranaut. She worked not just on honing her personality, from speaking English to wearing the best clothes, but also on enhancing her already fine acting skills. She took several classes in acting, directing, writing and speaking. She even wrote dialogues for her film Queen thus proving to be a cut above the flock. But the best and most perceptible trait in her is her way of thinking: objective, human, modern and fresh with a huge dose of I don’t care a damn attitude. Kangana’s growth and temper remind me of the Britney Spears song my daughter used to listen to: “You want a hot body? You want a Bugatti? You want a Maserati? You better work bitch. You want a Lamborghini? Sipping’ martinis? Look hot in a bikini? You better work bitch . You wanna live fancy? Live in a big mansion? Party in France? You better work bitch. ” Kangana’s story reflects this atti- tude very strongly. I was taken aback by Kangana’s scene in Fashion (2008) where she
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