For several days after I saw the Anurag Basu-directed Gangster, I found it hard to think of Simran as a figment of someone’s imagination. In the film, the sprite-like woman is an alcoholic, has to choose between two men, and at the end of the gloomy movie, jumps off a cliff.
Kangana Ranaut turns in a staggering performance as Simran. And in the movies that followed — the Parveen Babi-inspired Who Lamhe and Basu’s Life in a Metro — Kangana strikes the same tragic notes,but oh so beautifully.
The unusual voice and dimensions of her face, what with the long forehead and rebellious hair, only seem to complement the roles she has chosen. In a short time, Kangana has become both a critic’s and fashionista’s favourite, the latter for her personal style seen at awards functions and in magazines.
She has also received a lot of tabloid attention, be it for her alleged relationship with Aditya Pancholi, a physical harassment case filed by her driver and, more recently, a rumoured relationship with Jeyam Ravi, the hero of her upcoming Tamil movie, Dhaam Dhoom.
All this seems to create an image of a woman who is intensely complex, mysterious and, perhaps, tragic. But the small-town girl from Himachal Pradesh is quick to squash this impression.
"I’m a simple girl who had a normal childhood," she says. Referring to the ‘wild child’ image, perhaps courtesy her psychoneurotic portrayals on screen, she insists the real Kangana is very different from the reel version. "I’m no diva. And I don’t party at all, I am a complete homebird," she laughs.
At 21, Kangana is very disciplined and focussed, something that is confirmed by most people who have worked with her. She managed to bag an author backed role in her very first film and except for the dud Shakalaka Boom Boom, in which she played a conventional, bubbly heroine, her roles are chosen with care.
"Anurag (Basu) saw me in a coffee-shop, liked my ‘look’ and asked me to audition for the role. It was the first time I faced the camera and I gave it my very best and till today, I always believe in doing just that. You can never be ‘too prepared’."
Kangana is known for asking a lot of questions before any role (something that does not go down too well with most of Bollywood), but it is this commitment that has endeared her to some directors. "I am a total director’s actor. Everyone is, at some level, but for me I try and deliver exactly what my director has in mind," she says proudly. And it seems to be a mutual admiration society of sorts, with Anurag and the Bhatts being part of her ‘inner circle’. Madhur Bhandarkar, in whose forthcoming film, Fashion, Kangana plays a supermodel, raves about the intensity of her eyes and her amazing professionalism. "It has been a long time since we had an actress like her. Intelligent, deep eyes and amazing professionalism, it has been nothing short of amazing to work with her," says the director.
Not bad for someone who had no plans on entering films. Not in her formative years, at least. "Believe it or not, I am the last person who would have become an actress," she says.
" As a child, I was lazy, lazy lazy. I would wake up late, do things at my pace and if there was one thing I really enjoyed, it was ‘studying’, I loved my biology, my math and used to sit with my books for 17-18 hours straight, I wanted to be a doctor but films happened…" she trails off, seemingly at peace with the fact that college never happened.
"Acting takes a lot of discipline and that is something I have really worked on," she says. "You need to eat right, wake up at odd-hours. It’s not about giving your 100 per cent, it is about giving your 500 per cent."
Talking Kangana
As Shenba in Dhaam Dhoom
If you thought Kangana was all about curls and unpredictability (on-screen of course), then wait until you see her in her latest avatar as Shenba, a typical South-Indian naatupuram in Dhaam Dhoom.
Talking about her "fantastic learning experience" she says, "I never knew that idlis existed until I came to Chennai… this and spicy curry, yum." She adds how impressed she was with Coorg and Pollachi, where the film was shot.
"South-India is beautiful — pattu saris, jasmine flowers, carnatic music and delicious food, I am totally spoiled!" Kangana has a new look for the film, with straight hair.
"The hairstyle definitely works for Shenba. I like it, it gives me a whole new personality and I look like this naughty little South- Indian girl," she says.
And while she is very impressed with the professionalism in the industry down-South, Kangana is not too amused with her link-up with co-star Jeyam Ravi. "It is perfectly all right to have an affair," she exclaims, "only, I am not having one! I am not the kind of person to hide anything and, seriously, I shot with him for three months. If something were to happen, it would have happened then na? Why only before the release of the film?" Calming down a bit, she tells me how everyone in Mumbai is teasing her about her "Chennai boyfriend."
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