Kangana Ranaut has opened up about the intense, troubled characters that marked her early years in Bollywood—roles she describes as “edgy”, “neurotic” and even “suicidal”. In an exclusive chat with India Today, the actor-turned-politician reflected on two decades in the industry and how she’s constantly reinvented herself to avoid being typecast.
When asked if there was one film that changed everything for her, Kangana said it’s hard to pick just one. “Every film pushed me in a different direction,” she explained. “In the beginning, with Gangster (2006), Woh Lamhe (2006), Life in a… Metro (2007), and Fashion (2008), I was doing all these neurotic characters. People saw me as this edgy, temperamental girl—hot, sexy, suicidal, all of that.”
But Kangana didn’t want to stay stuck in that mould. She deliberately shifted gears, taking on lighter, more relatable roles in films like Queen (2013), Tanu Weds Manu (2011), and Panga (2020). “I moved into the comedy, girl-next-door space,” she said.
That phase brought her both critical praise and box office success, but again, she felt the need to break out. “Then the girl-next-door thing became too much,” she admitted. So she went for powerful, larger-than-life figures—Rani Lakshmibai, Jayalalithaa, Indira Gandhi. “Leadership roles,” as she put it.
Now, entering her third decade in films, Kangana says she’s exploring yet another side. “I’m moving towards portraying the very basic woman—the unseen woman who blends into the background, the one nobody really pays attention to. That’s the next phase.”
Looking back, she believes every shift has been necessary. “Whenever I felt typecast, I wanted to break out of that cage. I think that’s what’s given me so much variation in my career.”
Kangana’s next film, Bharat Bhhagya Viddhaata, releases in theatres on May 12.
