Kangana Ranaut: ‘When I made it big, I realised talent is not relevant in this industry’

Three-time National Film Award-winner Kangana Ranaut, who has had her share of struggle in the initial years, says she now finds that talent is irrelevant in Bollywood.

“I have become tough. Initially, when I came in, I’d think that talent was everything and you got to prove yourself. I did many things (and) I struggled on my way up. I learnt filmmaking and scriptwriting. I did everything, thinking talent is everything. Then, when I made it big, I realised talent is not relevant in this industry,” Kangana told IANS.

“People who play power politics and games have woven their little web of contacts and a small mafia. They work in sync with each other,” she added.

Kangana stepped into the world of acting with the thriller Gangster. Over a decade later, she is tagged as one of the top female actors in the Hindi film industry, after working in blockbusters like Queen, Krrish 3, Tanu Weds Manu franchise and Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi.

The actor, who is often surrounded by controversies, hit the headlines in 2017 when she called filmmaker Karan Johar “intolerant” towards outsiders and a “flagbearer of nepotism” who only backed industry kids, on his popular chat show Koffee With Karan.

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“It flustered me, I was not ready for this and I feel mafia anywhere is not healthy,” Kangana said of the trend of promoting mediocrity just because it comes with a bloodline. Kangana says she had to take bold steps to break the system. “In order to break that, I have been bold in my choices, because I feel sometimes you deserve what you are worth. At times, you have to take what you deserve and not settle for anything less,” she said.

With all the success she has seen, Kangana agrees stardom comes with a price tag. “There is a price to pay for everything, especially you want success. If you want superficial success, you can be a part of the mafia and dance to their tunes. But if you want well-deserved, sustainable success, you have to be worthy of it, and then there is a price to pay,” she added.

The JudgeMentall Hai Kya star says a lot of uncertainties make a person insecure in the acting profession. “I don’t know about other professions but this profession comes with a lot of insecurities. You do one project (and) then you are not sure when the next project will come you way. Sometimes, you don’t know the future of a great film. It’s shocking the kind of film that might just work,” she said.

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