Before she closes her eyes every night, Kangana’s last thought is ‘what if I had nothing’. The two-time National Award-winning actress, who is currently the toast of Bollywood and has laid claim as the highest paid actress in the industry, images a life without success that she enjoys today. This might require a fair amount of imagination, but Kangana insists this is an important exercise for her. “You always need to have a Plan B. If tomorrow I am not an actress anymore, then what? And, I realise that I am hardworking and talented enough to start from scratch all over again,” she says matter-of-factly.
Kangana’s second release for 2015, Katti Batti, will hit theatres next week. Her last film, a sequel to the 2011 sleeper hit, Tanu Weds Manu, raked in `151 crore at the box office. For her next, Kangana is being reportedly paid `11 crore, making her the highest-paid actress in Bollywood.
In an industry, where moneys are never discussed publicly, Kangana is making no bones about it. “Yes, I am the highest-paid actress today. Tanu Weds Manu Returns is one of the biggest blockbusters of all times. I don’t take a share in the film’s profit or produce my films, so my salary is a small part of what a producer is going to make. Gender disparity in salaries has to end and though we are still a long way away from that, this is a start.”
It’s been a little less than a decade since Kangana was catapulted into the limelight in Anurag Basu’s Gangster as the psychotic, two-timing gangster’s moll. And, during this time, she has been anything but a ‘regular Hindi film heroine’ in both her film choices and how she lived her life. She has balanced commercial fares like Shakalaka Boom Boom and Raaz: The Mystery Continues with films like Life in a Metro and Fashion, which allowed her to showcase her talent. She’s played a hybrid mutant-vamp in Krrish 3 just as effortlessly as she slipped into the role of a Rajouri Garden girl on a journey of self-discovery in Queen. Whether it was Gangster, Woh Lamhe or Fashion, she was willing to play characters that traditional Bollywood thought ‘to be out there’.
Earlier this year, the actress surprised and even ‘shocked’ many by wearing a Bibhu Mohaptra gown to receive her National Award at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. While the fashion police tut-tuted her sartorial choice, Kangana couldn’t care less because she wanted to “look glamorous like a movie star”. Last year, Kangana left Bollywood stunned when she took time off to study screenplay writing at the New York Film Academy. “While I was studying there, I would cook for myself and travel by the subway. It was amazing to live the anonymous life.”
In her journey from Mandi to Mumbai, Kangana has proven time and again that she marches to the beat of her own drum. And, she doesn’t feel the need to explain herself. “On my first day of Gangster, Anurag told me something that changed my life. He told me never to make excuses for myself or to defend myself. I do what I feel is right for me.” This is the mantra that guides Kangana in her quest for excellence.
And, there is always the hardwork she puts into every role. Her first-time co-star Imran Khan calls her “unusually diligent”. “On the first day of Katti Batti workshops, she came in with a pile of notebooks and lots of pencils, and was taking notes on the margins of the screenplay and making diagrams. I didn’t know her that well, but if I had to bet, I’d say she was one of those kids in school who asked for extra homework,” he recalls with a laugh.
Aanand R Rai, who directed Kangana in both the Tanu Weds Manu films, agrees. “Kangana is very hardworking. After a success like Queen, any other actress wouldn’t have worked as hard as she did to get the Haryanvi accent right for Datto or even change herself as drastically as she did for the role. One of the reasons why I love working with her so much is that she is ready to go the distance for a role,” says Rai.
When she works as hard as she does, Kangana doesn’t understand why she is being questioned about how much she charges per film. “Why is my work or my time not valued as much as a man’s? It’s not like I as a woman have more than 24 hours in a day or more than 365 days in a year. I challenge any man to work as hard as I do. It hurts when you don’t get what you deserve. I am not getting any younger. When I finish a film, I am always a year older than when I started,” she might laugh as she says this, but she does make a pertinent point about gender equality and equal pay, joining the ranks of actresses like Oscar-winner Patricia Arquette and Charlize Theron who have questioned the gap in Hollywood.
From being a struggling model who was rejected many times at film auditions, to wanting to break-free of mould of playing troubled characters, to being an advocate for equal pay, it hasn’t been an easy journey for Kangana. “I came here via Elite Modeling Agency to do a catalogue shoot. I went for a couple of film auditions with my fellow models and I ended up getting a film. Before the film came my way, I was supposed to do a music video. When I got the film, I refused the video. I could have so easily ended up an item girl because I didn’t know what I wanted to do.”
She might not have had direction, but the one attribute Kangana had, and continues to have, by truckloads is confidence. “I have always seen myself as a successful person and the rest of the world sees that as well. I have got awards from the President of the country twice. Today when I think back, I find it tough to believe this whole transformation into who I am, considering where I came from. I can’t imagine that there was a time when I didn’t have money to eat.”
In an industry where nepotism is rampant and connections are at a premium, it’s understandable why Kangana is proud of being self-made. “I think people respect me more because I am self-made. I had no help from anyone to get to where I am. Yes, it’s been a tough journey, but I would never choose a different path for myself. My struggle and my journey give me a unique perspective on everything, from money to clothes to awards.”
Kangana may be the toast of Bollywood, but she continues to have her detractors. “What is sad that the women who have inspired me to be where I am today are the same who are out with daggers to run me down. They are putting out stories saying I am not earning as much as I am, but they don’t understand that if I am getting a certain amount, it means salaries for women have gone up and it’s good for all of us. This crab mentality that people have is demoralising. They don’t realise that it’s not possible to get far with the kind of negativity they are living with.”
While she refuses to take names, Kangana says the negativity does upset her. “It is very damaging. I am where I am today only because I choose to look at the positive aspect of every situation. If I hadn’t, I could have been broken years ago. In my initial years, so many newcomers were launched in big films and they found immediate success. I took so much inspiration from there. I was very raw when I came to Mumbai. Every picture I would see of all these women, I’d want to look polished and well-groomed like that. And, today these women are not taking inspiration from me. Instead they are so full of negativity. That really hurts me. It’s not like actresses can’t exist parallelly. Male superstars don’t seem to have this problem. If one actor does well, the rest of them do a bigger film and they all grow. But I will not dwell too much on this negativity.”
All the positives in her life far outweigh the negativity. For instance, she recently shot a commercial with Amitabh Bachchan. Remember the thespian sent the actress letters and bouquets with compliments for her performance in both Queen and Tanu Weds Manu Returns. “When you are face-to-face with Mr Bachchan, there is no time to think about anything. But when you see yourself on screen, it is something else! It really hits you that you are working with ‘The’ Amitabh Bachchan. You’ve seen him on screen all your life… you have idolised him and then you see yourself on screen with him. It’s absolutely surreal. You think ‘Oh My God! I have come so far and I didn’t even realise it’. That feeling is very overwhelming,” she says.
A decade ago, while she was shooting Gangster in South Korea, Kangana remembers crying often because she felt trapped. “I had come from theatre, so I couldn’t understand why I had to do one action for different lens or camera angle. And I was a teenager, so I had no patience. I would keep crying because I felt like I was being forced into doing this,” she laughs at the memory.
Today, her understanding of what is required from her as an actress is second nature to her. “It is my job to reveal the actions of the character. I find my way into the daily life of the character and who she is and what drives her.”
The basis of Kangana’s process starts with “the material that I get from the director”. “I don’t think I have ever failed in my understanding of characters. I have a foolproof process… it’s very spiritual. I wish I could teach it somewhere.” Is her process as intense as Imran Khan revealed it to be? “It’s very intense. I take my work very seriously… But then I take everything in my life very seriously,” she laughs, adding, “People keep telling me to chill, but I like how I am. It’s better than those who take nothing seriously.”
Kangana picks Queen and Tanu Weds Manu Returns as the two landmark films of her career. “While Gangster brought me success, it also brought a lot of neurotic characters my way. I would have to pick Queen and Tanu Weds Manu. I think, Datto is the reason I have some really amazing characters coming my way right now.”
What makes Kangana such a formidable competitor for the Actress No. 1 tag many believe is her focus. “She is like a race-horse with blinkers on. She is very determined to be the best and it seems like nothing will stop her. From her first film, she has made sure that she is not part of any cliques,” says trade analyst Vajir Singh. In the last year, Priyanka Chopra has been busy with shooting her American TV show Quantico and both Kareena Kapoor Khan and Katrina Kaif have slowed down on work for personal reasons, leaving Deepika Padukone as Kangana’s closest competitor. While Deepika did prove her acting mettle with Piku earlier this year, Kangana is the only actress from the last few generations to have won two National Awards.
After the success of Tanu Weds Manu Returns, expectations from Katti Batti are sky high. But Kangana is not nervous because she is “very confident of the film”. As for those who insist that Kangana is the face of the film, she says, “The bigger players are actually the ones you don’t see (laughs). They are the puppet-masters who invest crores and walk away with hundreds of crores. People think everything is riding on the actors, but it’s not true. The process of making a blockbuster starts way before an actor comes on board.”
Next up for the actress is Vishal Bharadwaj’s much talked-about period drama Rangoon. The film teams her up with Saif Ali Khan and Shahid Kapoor, both of whom she hasn’t worked with before. “Kangana is an interesting actress who has made some amazing choices. I am really looking forward to working with her,” says Saif. Kangana is just as excited about the film that goes on the floor at the end of October. “I have spent most of this year just promoting films, so I can’t wait to shoot… to get back on a set. Vishal and I have been talking about Rangoon for a while now. The success of Tanu-Manu has made the film happen for me.”
Kangana is on a high, and it shows. “I am getting all that I deserve. All that I have worked so hard for.”