Kangana Ranaut responds to claims she interferes in direction and scripting: ‘Saara siyappa khatam karo’

Actor-politician Kangana Ranaut's Indira Gandhi biopic Emergency will be released in theatres on January 17. She promoted it on Indian Idol 15.

Actor-politician Kangana Ranaut got candid on an upcoming episode of the singing reality show Indian Idol 15. When asked if she took over directing her upcoming Indira Gandhi biopic Emergency because other directors ‘don’t enjoy’ her interference, here’s how she responded. (Also Read: Kangana Ranaut wants Karan Johar to act in her directorial, says ‘it will not be on saas-bahu ki chuglibaazi')

Kangana Ranaut directed, co-produced and starred in the political drama, Emergency.

Kangana Ranaut on directing Emergency

A contestant on the show, Manasi Ghosh, told Kangana she’s a huge fan. She then asked her, “I’ve seen in several interviews where directors mention that you interfere a lot with the direction and script of their films, and they don’t enjoy working with you. Is that why you decided to start directing your own movies?”

Kangana took it in stride and replied, “Saara siyappa khatam karo…you know what that means, right? Naa rahega baas, na bajegi basuri,” implying that the trouble must be treated at its source. She then laughed and added, “That’s not true. I have immense respect and admiration for everyone I’ve worked with. They’ve inspired me, and I’ve had the privilege of working with some amazing directors. Movies like Queen, Tanu Weds Manu, Fashion, and Gangster are remembered for their incredible filmography. That motivated me to pursue filmmaking myself.”

Kangana added that ‘it’s okay’ if she ‘doesn’t vibe with one or two’ of the ‘ten people’ she worked with. “You don’t have to change yourself to be liked by everyone. I started in 2005, and now it’s 2025, but there are still only a handful, maybe about five or six directors, actresses, and heroes who have truly made it. You keep chakki peesing around them. So I thought, let’s cultivate new talent.”

About her upcoming film Emergency

Even though Kangana is credited as the co-director of the 2019 film Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, Emergency is her directorial debut. The film, which she acted in, wrote, directed, and co-produced, stars Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Vishak Nair, Mahima Chaudhry, Milind Soman, and Satish Kaushik.

Talking about it on the show, she said, “ If you watch my film Emergency, you’ll see we’ve gathered some of the best talent from across the world. Our DOP has won an Academy Award, my prosthetic makeup artist is the best in the world, I have National Award winning actors like Anupam Ji and Shreyas as part of my crew, and the script consultant who guided me is the best in the country. Sometimes, I feel our own films can let us down, but after this 20 year grind, I thought, let’s make something different. It’s not that I don’t have enough people to work with—I just wanted to create something fresh.”