Kangana on balancing Bollywood and politics- Exclusive

Kangana Ranaut, the ‘Queen’ of Bollywood always sets a remarkable benchmark with her every film, whether it may be a historical character who fights on the frontier or a modern woman with gravitas in her character. The ‘Dhaakad’ actor has gone through multiple challenges in her professional as well as personal life, and she emerges as the beast with a roar, beating every trouble.

It appears that her latest movie ‘Emergency’ takes a page of resilience from the actor’s playbook itself.
In a candid conversation with ETimes, the actor went vocal about her experience, her journey from getting fascinated by the history of the Emergency era, and absorbing Mrs. Indira Gandhi, not just as a character, but as a human, a fierce woman, to actually shooting the film and further having the film banned, after the final cut.

‘Emergency’ was scheduled to be released on September 6, 2025, however, due to sensitive political issues, the movie was banned from release. This disclosure caused a setback for the production due to the extended delay, despairing Ranaut and the other artists who worked on the film.

Ranaut and the audience may have contradictory opinions, yet the magnitude of talent she holds is enough to dominate the field. With a career in Bollywood, Ranaut is also the Member of Parliament from Mandi. However, the roles come with their challenges. When asked about how she is balancing everything and the hardships that have come along the way, the actress shared, “If at some point you feel that you have expertise in the field, I can direct or act - even though I had a few complications while directing ‘Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi’, you are more equipped or mature.”
She added, “You know, now the way I directed Emergency, not a single of overshoot, not a single day of patchwork, not a single day we have wasted. So, such things come with an experience, so you think you have a good hold, but at that moment the almighty gives you challenges you can’t confront at all, and then you think that there’s so much to learn. There’s paperwork, whether office work. You know as an actor, you are guarded.”
Expressing the difference in her lifestyles - political and as an actor, she said, “For the audience, you are just a star far from them. You can’t be on the ground and they won’t be able to see you in the stars. And that’s how it is, we wave them from the stage and go away. However, in politics, you have to be on the ground. You have to work on the grassroots levels and connect with everybody. You have to meet different kinds of people, and you get confused about how you will engage with them, and have a conversation. How do you make them appeal? Because there was a time when we used to wave weaning specs and people expected that. Now, they don’t expect it, in fact wearing a pair of shades is a sign of arrogance. You have to be completely bare. You have to identify and forget the star status.”
“I’m riding a ferocious beast..”
The film's origin had its root in Ranaut's eagerness to learn about the history for the knowledge she may need for debates or social commentary, specifically the Emergency era. When she read ‘Indira Gandhi: A Biography’ by Pupul Jayakar, the particular scenario that enchanted her was when Jiddu Krishnamurthy asked Mrs. Gandhi to put an end to the Emergency, she answered by saying, “Jiddu, I’m riding a ferocious beast. If I get down now, it’ll eat me up.”
The ‘Tejas’ actor revealed how deeply involved she was with the character, ‘It was easy to get into the character, It was difficult to get out of it’. Ranaut dedicated her prolonged period and a gazillion efforts to creating this film. She started by getting involved in the research, then playing the character, directing the movie, and finally editing it, making the actor stay with the soul of the role for a long time.