Kangana Ranaut has looked back at the roles that shaped her first years in films and said she was once known for playing intense, emotionally troubled characters. The actor and politician, who has completed 20 years in the industry, said those parts gave her a strong screen image, but she kept moving away from each phase whenever she felt boxed in. She also said that no single film changed her career because each stage pushed her in a new direction.
Kangana Ranaut on early career roles
In an interview with India Today, Ranaut spoke about the different phases of her film journey. She said her early work put her in a space where she became known for edgy, troubled characters.“You know, all the films have made such a strong impact and pushed me in different directions. Whether it was those very neurotic characters in ‘Gangster’ (2006), ‘Woh Lamhe’ (2006), ‘Life in a… Metro’ (2007), ‘Fashion’ (2008), there was this series of neurotic roles, and I was known as this edgy girl who was temperamental, neurotic, hot, sexy, suicidal, all of that,” she said.Ranaut said she did not want to stay in one image for too long. After those serious roles, she shifted into lighter and more relatable parts.“Then I transformed that image into the comedy, girl-next-door space with ‘Queen’ (2013), ‘Tanu Weds Manu’ (2011), ‘Panga’ (2020), and others,” she said.
Kangana Ranaut talks about breaking typecasting
The actor said even the girl-next-door image began to feel limiting after a point. She then chose roles built around strong leadership figures.“Then came a time when it was too much of the girl-next-door image, and I took on roles like Rani Lakshmibai, Jayalalithaa, and Indira Gandhi, leadership roles,” she said.Ranaut said she is now moving into another creative phase. “And now there’s a phase where I’m going into portraying the very basic woman, the unseen woman who blends into the background and whom nobody really pays attention to. So, this is the next phase.”She added, “They’re all equally important because whenever I felt typecast, I wanted to break away from that cage. I think that has given me a lot of variation in my career.”Ranaut will next be seen in ‘Bharat Bhhagya Viddhaata,’ which is set to release in theaters on May 12.