When we asked Pahlaj Nihalani, who was supposed to launch her about Kangana's age, he brushed off the issue saying that, "A woman's age in Bollywood is never above 21-22." Adding further to the confusion, ex boyfriend Aditya Pancholi says her birth year is 1986.
Whether she's 22 going on 28 or not, there's no denying that Kangana Ranaut is catwalk material. The slender actress has more often than not played a model or actress in her films. Whether onscreen or off it, Kangana has got the right attitude when it comes to walking the walk. Think of melancholic, emotionally strung, characters on screen and you can almost visualise the curly locked Kangana Ranaut portraying them with a certain degree of finesse.
The picture-perfect 20-something might have made a successful career out of playing 'dark' roles in most of her films (Gangster, Woh Lamhe, Fashion and even Raaz2), but those are just "reel coincidences," she says. In real life she's down-to-earth, levelheaded and shows maturity beyond her years.
For someone who's being touted as the 'highest' paid female actor in Tollywood, Kangana would have us believe that language doesn't matter. "Bollywood, Tollywood or Kollywood, makes no difference to me. I'm an actress who's willing to do films in any language," she asserts.
Of course, doing a Tamil or a Telugu film is no cakewalk for the Arian. She admits that she has to "work doubly hard. For instance, memorising up the lines and working on pronunciation involves lots of effort. However, there are some words that are common in Tamil and Telugu," she avers.
Kangana owes her perfect 10 figure to a dedicated fitness regime that includes "yoga", even amid her daily grind (she's "up every morning by 4 am" and sleeps only at midnight). For someone who trusts her "instincts" while selecting films, 2009 has lots to offer — Anurag Basu's Kites (opposite Hrithik Roshan), No Problem opposite Akshaye Khanna and Milan Luthria's Once Upon A Time In Mumbai.
Ironically, even in Kites she plays an obsessive character, something she's done before. "Every character on screen has some resemblance to the real life characters they are inspired by. As an actor I believe in doing justice to my roles. Milan wants me to meet yesteryear actor Sona (the woman who Haji Mastan loved), on whose life Once Upon A Time In Mumbai is based. I listen to what my directors tell me," she says.
Considering she's doing a lot of Tamil and Telugu films, does she have favourites? And Kangana is at her diplomatic best: "I admire Rajnikanth and Nagarjuna a lot."
Kangna is getting ready for the biggest challenge of her career. She'll be playing whom she considers the most beautiful woman in the history of Indian cinema. It's a thought that flatters and terrifies her. Kangna is afraid she may not look beautiful enough on screen.
"I've never thought of myself as beautiful. In fact I've always suffered from the lowest self-esteem. Till recently, I'd look at my pictures and cringe. I still have the pictures from my first portfolio I got done in Chandigarh. They remind me of how ugly I can look. And to now play Madhubala in Once Upon A Time In Mumbai. How will I do it?"
Kangna is so petrified at the prospect that she has stopped looking into the mirror completely. She laughs when people tell her playing the traumatized mistress of the underworld don would be a cakewalk for her. "I'm proud of my so-called territory as an actress. If playing traumatized women is my territory then I'm glad. Because I know I'm good at it."
The challenge in Once Upon A Time... is the physicality. "Madhubala's role is not as tragic as my other roles. It's basically a very tender romance between this really funny don (played by Ajay Devgan) and this female superstar who can't understand his personality. How will I manage to play the most beautiful woman that Indian cinema has ever seen? My characters have always had a dark and light side. And this one is no exception. But the challenge for me is to look almost ethereally beautiful, like Madhubala. How will I manage that?"
Kangna intends to undergo a complete transformation of look and appearance. She has already started watching DVDs of Madhubala's films very carefully. "I won't copy her. But I want to get into her mind and heart space."
And surprise, surprise! Kangana doesn't "want to talk" about boyfriend Adhyayan Suman even as she flashes her 1,000 megawatt smile and bids us goodbye. Some raaz ki baat that!
Debate Mansion
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