Kangana Ranaut reflects on playing 'neurotic, suicidal' roles early in her career: 'I was known as this edgy girl'

Kangana Ranaut reflected on her diverse career in Hindi cinema, noting her shift from neurotic roles to authoritative characters.

Ever since her debut in the 2006 film Gangster, Kangana Ranaut has played a wide variety of roles in Hindi cinema. Recently, Kangana reflected on her career and spoke about how she was once known for playing edgy, neurotic characters and how her film choices today are markedly different.

'I was known as this edgy girl'

Kangana Ranaut made her Bollywood debut with Anurag Basu's romantic-thriller Gangster.

Speaking to India Today, she said, "You know, all the films have made such a strong impact and pushed me in different directions. Whether it was those very neurotic characters in Gangster (2006), Woh Lamhe (2006), Life in a... Metro (2007), Fashion (2008) —there was this series of neurotic roles, and I was known as this edgy girl who was temperamental, neurotic, hot, sexy, suicidal, all of that. Then I transformed that image into the comedy, girl-next-door space with Queen (2013), Tanu Weds Manu (2011), Panga (2020), and others.”

'I'm going into portraying the very basic woman'

As Kangana matured with age and advanced in her career, she shared that she began choosing more commanding and authoritative roles. She said, "Then came a time when it was too much of the girl-next-door image, and I took on roles like Rani Lakshmibai, Jayalalithaa, and Indira Gandhi—leadership roles. And now there's a phase where I'm going into portraying the very basic woman, the unseen woman who blends into the background and whom nobody really pays attention to. So, this is the next phase.”

Kangana's recent films

Kangana is not wrong when she talks about the diversity of her filmography. Her last few films have been vastly different from one another. She played an International Task Force (ITF) agent in Dhaakad (2022). This was followed by her role as a fighter jet pilot in Tejas. She then portrayed former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi in Emergency. In her upcoming film, Bharat Bhagya Vidhata, she takes on the role of a nurse.

About Bharat Bhagya Vidhata

For the unversed, Bharat Bhagya Vidhata is based on the true events of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. The film focuses on the untold story of the bravery displayed by the medical and security staff at Cama and Albless Hospital, who safeguarded nearly 400 patients during the siege.

The film is slated to release on June 12