Before Anurag Basu‘s Gangster released in 2006, there was a lot of buzz in the media about how the director saw young model-turned-actor Kangana Ranaut at a cafe and chose to cast her as the main lead in the film. “
During a conversation with Raj Shamani on his podcast actor-filmmaker-politician Kangana opened up about how she bagged the role in the film. She shared, “Nope, that was not what happened at all.I was selected through an audition, but when you are promoting a film, you need to have an exciting story, right? It was all just a PR-driven stunt.”
Kangana discussed a wide range of subjects on the podcast, such as politics, her disapproval of Bollywood’s operations, and more. She also talked about how her career began in cinema. The actress also opened up about the initial reaction of her parents when she informed them about ‘Gangster’. She shared, “You know, my parents aren’t really well-versed with cinema or what was happening in Bollywood. But they knew there was a film called Murder, and it was famous for all the wrong reasons.”
She further added, “Anurag Basu, who made Murder, was also making Gangster, and I told my parents that my debut would be with the makers of Murder. My papa was furious and asked me to come back immediately and there was a huge issue that happened over it.”
This was not Kangana’s first challenge in her Hindi film debut as the part that was offered to her demanded that she play a mother of a child who was either four or five years old. “I was fresh out of school, and the makers weren’t sure if I’d pull it off. They wanted to cast Chitrangada Singh for the role and went ahead with the project. However, due to certain circumstances, the role came back to me. I didn’t mind the detours, and I said I will do the film. I just wanted to star in a movie,” said the actress.
She mentioned the next big obstacle to her debut was that the production team wanted her passport. The actress revealed that almost no one in her family had ever flown abroad till then. She said, “When the team asked me for my passport, I asked them what it meant. Anurag asked, ‘Are you from Timbaktoo to not understand what a passport meant?’” Worried that it might lead to being dropped off the project once again, Kangana reached out to her father for help. “It was a moment of truth for me. If he decided to help me get the passport, it was like him coming to terms with what I was going to do with my life. As an influential person, and someone with strong ties with the Congress party, he managed to get the passport in a couple of days, and I went to South Korea. It was my first foreign trip. It was my first shoot. It was my first day of schedule.”
On the work front, the recently elected Mandi MP is eagerly anticipating the release of ‘Emergency’, a biographical political drama in which she serves as both the lead actress and the director. In the movie, she will portray the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Mahima Chaudhry, Shreyas Talpade, and Anupam Kher have important supporting roles in the film. The film is slated for a release on September 6.
During a conversation with Raj Shamani on his podcast actor-filmmaker-politician Kangana opened up about how she bagged the role in the film. She shared, “Nope, that was not what happened at all.I was selected through an audition, but when you are promoting a film, you need to have an exciting story, right? It was all just a PR-driven stunt.”
Kangana discussed a wide range of subjects on the podcast, such as politics, her disapproval of Bollywood’s operations, and more. She also talked about how her career began in cinema. The actress also opened up about the initial reaction of her parents when she informed them about ‘Gangster’. She shared, “You know, my parents aren’t really well-versed with cinema or what was happening in Bollywood. But they knew there was a film called Murder, and it was famous for all the wrong reasons.”
She further added, “Anurag Basu, who made Murder, was also making Gangster, and I told my parents that my debut would be with the makers of Murder. My papa was furious and asked me to come back immediately and there was a huge issue that happened over it.”
This was not Kangana’s first challenge in her Hindi film debut as the part that was offered to her demanded that she play a mother of a child who was either four or five years old. “I was fresh out of school, and the makers weren’t sure if I’d pull it off. They wanted to cast Chitrangada Singh for the role and went ahead with the project. However, due to certain circumstances, the role came back to me. I didn’t mind the detours, and I said I will do the film. I just wanted to star in a movie,” said the actress.
She mentioned the next big obstacle to her debut was that the production team wanted her passport. The actress revealed that almost no one in her family had ever flown abroad till then. She said, “When the team asked me for my passport, I asked them what it meant. Anurag asked, ‘Are you from Timbaktoo to not understand what a passport meant?’” Worried that it might lead to being dropped off the project once again, Kangana reached out to her father for help. “It was a moment of truth for me. If he decided to help me get the passport, it was like him coming to terms with what I was going to do with my life. As an influential person, and someone with strong ties with the Congress party, he managed to get the passport in a couple of days, and I went to South Korea. It was my first foreign trip. It was my first shoot. It was my first day of schedule.”
On the work front, the recently elected Mandi MP is eagerly anticipating the release of ‘Emergency’, a biographical political drama in which she serves as both the lead actress and the director. In the movie, she will portray the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Mahima Chaudhry, Shreyas Talpade, and Anupam Kher have important supporting roles in the film. The film is slated for a release on September 6.
Kangana Ranaut Launches Fresh Attack on Bollywood: ‘They’re Stupid… like Grasshoppers’