FILM INTERVIEW: KANGANA RANAUT
Bollywood Actress Aims to Knock Out Major Goals
Her career did not fly away with her character’s fleeting love interest in Hrithik Roshan when Kites released earlier this year, yet will Kangana Ranaut ‘Knock Out’ her critics when Mani Shankar’s action film releases this weekend? With two action-thrillers filling the screens at Bollywood multiplexes on October 15th, no doubt audiences will be hard pressed which film to watch — Priyadarshan’s Aakrosh, with blockbuster names such as Ajay Devgn, Akshaye Khanna and Bipasha Basu headlining its posters; or Knock Out, with an equally powerful cast of Ms. Ranaut, Sanjay Dutt, Irrfan Khan, and Gulshan Grover.
Then again, such a question is one that is not found anywhere in the mind of the beautiful Ms. Ranaut, whose frizzy locks and nontraditional physique raised enough eyebrows in Bollywood to earn her a few edgy yet significant roles in films such as Gangster – A Love Story, Who Lamhe, Life In A Metro, and Fashion.
Performing such envelope-pushing yet highly visible roles has given Ms. Ranaut quite a bit of security in her acting career, which she is quite mindful. Then again, the twenty-something Hindi film star still has her mesmerizing eyes set on even bigger goals.
“I’m quite happy with how my career is moving. But in terms of the future…well, I guess I’d like to direct a movie. I have a script in mind,” Ms. Ranaut told the press this week as she promoted Knock Out.
Looking ahead to what she may be doing in the yet-to-be-defined future, Ms. Ranaut must certainly be proud of her past, which recently earned her a National Award for playing Shonali opposite Priyanka Chopra in Fashion.
“It’s been quite a journey. I came to the industry, when I was 17, with no idea of what to expect. I was fortunate that Gangster was a huge hit. I won many awards, and the industry gave me another chance,” she humbly informed the press. “Otherwise, it’s an industry that’s very unforgiving toward outsiders. This year, I’m trying a lot of new genres and different films. It’s been a lot of hard work but also lots of fun.”
Ms. Ranaut probably had quite a bit of fun working on Knock Out, which totally fits within the vein of other offbeat films she has worked on, such as Double Dhamaal, No Problem, Tanu Weds Manu, Rascals, Game, and Tezz.
Bollywood’s answer to the Colin Farrell-headlined Phone Booth, Ms. Ranaut said Mani Shankar’s Knock Out was unlike any other project she had worked on during her brief yet meaty film career.
“Knock Out is different from anything I’ve done before,”Ms. Ranaut, who plays a journalist, explained to the press. “There was one point in the film where I actually got a chance to experience the urgency and intensity journalists experience every day.”
Of course, Ms. Ranaut’s life is filled with its own unique set of urgency and intensity, what with her balancing a career as a fashion designer on top of being a thespian. In fact, with plans already in progress to launch her own clothing line, Ms. Ranaut also designed her own wardrobe for the roles she undertook in Rascals and Tezz.
Quite the active actress (and fashion designer), no doubt Ms. Ranaut will continue to “knock out” anyone standing in her way on her path to destined success. Sure, she has some stiff competition this weekend, going head to head with Bips in the battle of action-thrillers. Yet, what fun is life without a little adrenaline and competition?
Be sure to get your skirts blown up this weekend, as Ms. Ranaut stars in one of two adrenaline-inspired action-thrillers with Sanjay Dutt and Irrfan Khan.
Knock Out opens worldwide on October 15th.
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