Kangana spoke candidly to Anupama Chopra in 2013 about doing films like Rascals or Double Dhamaal because she needed the money to survive. The actor revealed that she waited all day in her vanity van to deliver a straight line in front of the camera, fully aware that no one cared because those were not the kinds of movies people cared about. Her candour was refreshing, and she rose to the position of rulebreaker. Ten years later, we know that a celebrity’s image is carefully curated to highlight their unique selling point.
The movies they choose are consistent with that image, and even when they are not, the numerous interviews they give before a film’s release reinforce that image so that the audience knows where to place them. Kangana was a woman from a small town who had challenged the industry’s big players. It is nearly impossible to separate art from its creator, which could not be further from the truth in Kangana’s case. She avoided social media for years, but when she needed to make a point, she ensured she was heard. Her characterization of Karan Johar as the “flagbearer of nepotism” was a pop culture moment that will be remembered in Indian cinema history.
Everyone has the right to broadcast their opinion in the age of social media. However, in Kangana’s case, the statements quickly merged into noise as she told everyone where she stood on any subject under the sun. Kangana opened up a baggage of her personal stories with each film she released since 2017, ranging from her relationships to her difficulties with the film’s crew. The stories were soon expanded beyond film. She had an opinion on everything, leaving her audience debating the issues and the actor. Surreptitiously, the art and the artist came together.
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