Kangna Ranaut: I think I am sexy

Kangna Ranaut is on cloud nine.

First, the trailer of her latest film Queen got a great response, and many of her colleagues like Hrithik Roshan and Anushka Sharma have congratulated her on it.

To top that, Aamir Khan called her the sexiest actress in Bollywood in a show on Koffee With Karan.

Kangna, who’s got a fantastic sense of fashion, says it was difficult to play a simple girl-next-door character in Queen, who dresses up in ‘girlish’ attire like jeans, kurtas and sweaters.

Directed by Vikas Bahl, the film revolves around Kangna’s character, who travels to Paris and Amsterdam alone on her honeymoon!

In this interview with Sonil Dedhia, Kangna tells us how she is different from most people in the industry.

Your last film Rajjo didn’t do well. How much does that hurt?

It doesn’t hurt at all. When Rajjo came my way, it was already shot. They just shot my portions separately and inserted them in the film.

I don’t think it was a bad film. I liked it. It did not do well but that is not in my hands.

My identity and confidence does not come from whether people approve my work or not. It comes from the fact that I did my best.

Had you anticipated that the trailer of Queen would become such a rage?

I won’t say that I didn’t have expectations, but I was a bit sceptical as Queen is an unusual film and there are times when you can go wrong with the first look of the film.

The trailer was shown to a lot of people from the film industry. I received a positive response from all of them.

One of the best actresses in the industry texted me to say that she loved the trailer.

Can you reveal the name of the actress who messaged you?

I got messages from Anushka Sharma, Ranbir Kapoor, Aamir Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Imran Khan, Emraan Hashmi -- the list is very long (laughs).

I am flattered that they appreciated my work.

In the past there were reports of your fallouts with many actors. Today, you are spoken of by all the big actors. How did this transition happen?

I am not a very easy person to be with. I am very stubborn. I do have my own hang ups. I am unpredictable and don’t do what you’d expect me to do.

Having said that, I am also someone who takes responsibility for my actions. It’s not that I have more friends; the same people who liked me earlier, like me today.

Aamir Khan on Koffee With Karan said that you are the sexiest actress in Bollywood.

I agree with him. I think I am sexy.

It is flattering because he is somebody I have always looked up to. I find his comments very encouraging.

I like him as a person. I like his working style. He is honest and intellectual. He has been named one of the most influential persons in the world by Time magazine, which is a big honour.

Your character in Queen is being compared to your character in Tanu Weds Manu.

There is not a single similarity between the two characters. In Tanu Weds Manu my character was overtly confident. She would manipulate men for her benefit. She was a flirt and would make people laugh.

In Queen, people are laughing at my character in the various circumstances that happen in her life.

In the film your character says that she has a great sense of humour. Do you personally have a good sense of humour?

I have written that dialogue and I assume I have a good sense of humour (laughs).

Why did you decide to write the dialogues of the film?

I have just written my dialogues in the film. When I started getting into the character, I had a certain way of delivering lines with a certain accent.

My character in the film is someone who doesn’t open up, is not confident at all, but later on she transforms herself.

I told Vikas Bahl (the director of the film) that I would like to do the character in my own way. 

Your personality in the film is very different from the sort of person you are. Was it difficult to transform yourself for the movie?

It took me time to get into the character. I had to psych myself to get into the character.

I am very confident in real life. My parents were shocked at what I did and said. In my classroom I was always a topic of discussion for how I used to say things.

It was difficult for me to understand the psychology of my character in Queen, who behaved or talked like she had done something wrong.

It took me time to understand that upbringing and mind-set. I wouldn’t say it was very difficult because people like that are always around you.

Is it a deliberate decision to choose author-backed and women-centric roles?

I don’t want to do only women-centric films. In Krrish 3 the role was not woman-centric but it was appreciated.

A woman-centric role feels good as I have a lot more control when the highlight is on me. Like in Queen, there is not a single frame without me.

From writing to scripting to editing, I was involved in every way in the film. I was aware how things were shaping up.

I don’t want to do films where I just have to show up on my shoot dates and not be involved in any other part of the project.

Films like Queen and Revolver Rani (her upcoming film) helped me grow immensely.

Was that one of the reasons you chose to enrol in a screenplay writing course?

I don’t have an agenda or plan. As an actor my life becomes so monotonous with what I do every day. I don’t have any other experiences. Going to New York and living on my own, cooking, going in buses, doing my laundry, gives me a different experience.

I am a creative person and as an actor I deliver with my performances but there is not much I can look up to. All the time people are looking at me. I feel as a person I keep giving and not getting anything in return.

I would call this a pause in my ordinary life. It allows me to be in a different space, circumstances, and environment and understand my own expectations and what I like and what I don’t.

Screenplay writing is something that will keep me occupied. I don’t know if I will use this skill, but you never know.

Is an actor’s life claustrophobic?

I can’t talk for other actors. Personally, for me, it is a bit. It can get a bit monotonous as you keep doing the same thing. Monotony is meant to be broken and I keep doing that.

Are you planning to write a screenplay or get into direction?

Yes, of course, but I don’t know when it will happen. I am not very keen on producing as I don’t know how to do it.

It was a refreshing change to write the dialogues of Queen. I remember Arjun Kapoor was repeating my dialogues at Salman Khan’s birthday party.

I must have hardly seen 10 films so I would like to explore other areas of filmmaking.

Which are the 10 films that you have seen?

I find it tiring to watch films. I do it only when someone recommends it to me. I don’t find great entertainment values in films.

It has a lot to do with my upbringing. When I was a kid, we weren’t allowed to watch TV. The only thing we were allowed to watch was Disney Hour. Even that had to stop when we had to start preparing for our final exams.

Today if I am at home, the last thing that I do is switch on the television. I have not seen television for the longest time. My father watches television a lot now and the noise of it starts getting to me. I like to read books and listen to music for hours.

How does our family look at your work today?

My parents can’t unlearn what they have learnt all their lives. They look up to my relatives who are doctors and saving lives. One of my uncles is the biggest cardiologist in the world, and my father thinks they are doing a lot with their lives and I am not.

I can’t change his opinion. I think I am doing fairly well.

My parents are not artists so they don’t look at movies as an art form. They don’t understand where acting comes from and why acting, singing, making music is important.

My father would have loved me to be a doctor or be in the army. In future I might consider it (laughs). But right now I love acting, music, poetry.

Have they seen any of your film and do they appreciate it?

Sometimes they like my work, sometimes they don’t. They saw Shootout at Wadala and my father did not like it. My father had a headache watching it and he was throwing a fit.

I argued with him that if you don’t like my films why do you see them? We both were right (laughs). My mother played the peacemaker.

How competitive are you in your work? Do you keep track of what your contemporaries are doing?

I like competition. I think it is nice to have people who are good and hardworking and who push you to do better. That is how you should see competition.

I don’t have to keep track of anyone’s life; that’s not going to help me and it is too tiring and time consuming. But if there is a highly recommended performance or a film then I make sure that I see it.

The last film I was recommended was Band Baaja Baarat and to see Anushka Sharma’s work. I saw the film. I liked the film and her work.

You always speak your mind. Are other actresses scared to reveal a lot of things that happen in their lives?

I don’t know. My experiences are special. I am a very unusual person to be in this industry. I was bought up in the hills and no one in my family was connected to films.

I come with a different set of ideologies and experiences which I feel are appealing and endearing to everyone. My experiences are very exciting, real and dramatic.

It is not that people don’t speak their mind, or are hiding or are covering up or not honest, it is just that my life is exciting and relatable.