The “Queen” of Bollywood, Kangana Ranaut seems to be the favorite child of controversy, as she is often in limelight for some or the other reasons, be it nepotism debate or her relationship and alleged fight with the “Krrish” star Hrithik Roshan.
Love her or hate her but you can’t ignore her – this statement is utterly true for this bold and beautiful actress who never fears from speaking her heart out. From the last few weeks, Kangana has been making shocking revelations regarding Bollywood and bluntly says that she has no fear even if her filmy career ends right now, as she already has a success story.
Now she has opened up on one more important topic, i.e., pay disparity which exists in the industry for long.
Well, we must applaud the actress for being bold enough and not afraid of being trolled by netizens who called the actress ‘publicity hungry’. Here’s what she told Mid-day,
“Why are we so wary of discussions and debate? I am told it’s bad PR, but I don’t quite understand that term.”
Ranaut is of the opinion that it’s a serious issue to be discussed, as she was a victim of pay disparity in Bollywood. She even accused few actresses of putting themselves down while talking to Mid-day,
“There are women in the industry who say that if actresses are unable to bring in crowds (in a theatre) that a male star can, how can they demand equal pay. If we, as actresses, keep instilling this inferiority complex in girls, there is no hope for better times. Personally, my logic for remuneration has always been that I have 365 days to work, as much as any male star. An actor’s pay must be determined by the amount of work she/he does. Your gender is no yardstick for it.”
She further takes a jibe at four biggest stars of the film industry (including Khans) and says,
“The industry isn’t just made up of four actors who have lasted through the decades. I might not have 30 years behind me. But in my 10 years, I’ve achieved significant milestones to demand a certain fee. Anybody’s film can fail and this year has shown us enough proof of that. So, let’s stop giving the opening (weekend) and closing logic.”
Kangana calls herself smarter than actors and even the director and alleges that they can’t work with her because they can’t digest or accept an actress to be more intelligent than them. In her words,
“I know actors can’t work with me. By and large, the system is not comfortable with an actress being intelligent. Too bad if she is smarter than the male lead. And worse, if she is smarter than the director. I have no choice but to go solo at this point. I face prejudice and people joke about how I am the bully. I swing between being a bi**h and Buddha. Have you heard that I am a witch apparently.”
While interacting with Mid-day, Kangana spoke about sexism prevailing in B-Town. Here’s what she disclosed,
“They want actresses to be dumb and pretty. I can’t act dumb. I can’t sit on a set pampering the male ego, just because it’s the easier way to get your way around men. To expect men to stand up for feminism is silly. They are used to being a priority in every field. It was a life of comfort for them — women were looking after their homes, giving them sex. Suddenly, women are coming out of this chauvinistic spell and asking relevant questions. That is bothering the men. Women, too, are sometimes more chauvinistic than men, perpetuating the ‘men are better’ complex.”
That was definitely a bold remark on the part of Kangana and very few actresses have the guts to speak so openly in public. Well, we are now looking forward for her upcoming flick “Simran”!