KANGANA: WILL DO ONE FILM A YEAR FROM 2017

For Kangana Ranaut, 2015 swung from one extreme to the other, from the applauded double role in the Tanu Weds Manu Returns' to the disappointing Katti Batti'. The actress is unfazed, pointing out that her life too has been like this. "It's either overwhelming or under-whelming, there's no middle ground," she laughs.

Kangana admits she'd expected Tanu 2' to do well but was a bit taken aback when it turned out to be one of the year's top grossers. Similarly, she had not anticipated that Katti Batti', which she believed to be a good film, would crash. "Maybe people expected it to b my film and were disappointed to see so little of me. But I no longer have to prove that I can act in every film with a long screen time. In the past, I have successfully been a part of films like Life In A... Metro', Fashion' and Krrish 3' which didn't revolve around me," she argues.

Kangana remembers Salim Khan telling her that in this industry few connect, and those who do shouldn't fool around with their image and audience expectations. "He was speaking from experience. I'm just a decade old here and I still don't understand what made Queen a phenomenon. But if I were to ever write a book it wouldn't be on my achievements but on how to lose and not lose your mind," she smiles.

It's the award season and suddenly, Datto Tanu is no longer top of the mind. Kangana is not surprised, reasoning that awards have become events and are all about song, dance, glamour and TRPs. "Technicians are being pushed to the 30th row while those whose work is not even relevant sit in the front rows. A few like the National Awards and Filmfare Awards are more respectful but the others are giving 10 awards in one category to 10 people. So when you carry the piece of metal home, you lose respect in your own eyes," points out the actress, who has never played by the rules, shying away from special appearance songs, big setups with influential superstars and expected blockbusters.

Her line-up for this year includes Rangoon', Simran' and Rani Laxmibai' with makers who have never followed the rule book. She's filming Vishal Bhardwaj's Casablanca-like love story, set against the Second World War, and confides that after the Tanu Weds Manu' sequel, in which she did the job of two actors, and the cancer patient in Katti Batti', she'd hoped that even though Rangoon' is a big film with larger-than-life characters, it would be easy for her as a woman in love with two men.

"But Julia is extremely conflicted. It's amazing how well Vishal sir understands a woman and it's fulfilling to engage creatively with him. But while he is patient and collaborative on some days, he's a hard taskmaster who knows what he wants and how to get it on other days. He's demanding, drives everyone with his passion and keeps you on your toes. It's turning out to be really draining," she says.

The pressure is unlikely to let up when she starts Simran' with Hansal Mehta, who is equally demanding, has a different sensibility and a subtle, universal language. It will demand a long stay in Gujarat for the girl from the mountains to imbibe the language and culture. "I want Simran to be real and raw, not a stereo typical Gujarati or a caricature."

There's another "bone-breaking" film, Ketan Mehta's biopic on Rani Laxmibai, who, for her, is one of the real heroes who are often ignored by an industry that keeps remaking inconsequential films. "At the age of 90, if I discovered a maker from another country had made a film on her I would die of shame. We need to take pride in our own culture. Besides, I feel a strange connect with this rebel with a cause. Growing up, I would join every strike and I believe if I had lived in pre-Independence India, I would be wearing khadi saris and marching in morchas," Kangana laughs.