Besides these three projects, Kangana has also announced a couple of projects under the banner of her very own production – Manikarnika Films.
A few days after the Supreme Court delivered its verdict in the Ram Mandir Janambhoomi dispute in November 2019, Kangana announced that she would be exploring the case through a film. Titled Aparajitha Ayodhya, the actor said the film would depict the journey of the protagonist from a non-believer to a believer. Calling this a reflection of her own journey, Kangana also said that she would be directing the film though not acting in it. The film on the Ram Mandi-Babri Masjid dispute will be Kangana’s production house’s first project.
Kangana also recently announced that she would make a film on Kashmir to “awaken the citizens of the country”. This came after her controversial war of words with the Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra. After the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) initiated demolition work at her office in Mumbai, Kangana said that she understood how Kashmiri Pandits felt and promised her fans that she would make a film on Kashmir after completing her film on Ayodhya.
Question is, will the actor’s film suffer because of the controversies that surround her? Going by history – social media boycotts or campaigns against actors have never had an impact on the box-office returns of their films. Be it Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan or Deepika Padukone, the success or failure of their films have only depended on how good or bad their film was. For instance, despite a call for a boycott on Aamir Khan’s Dangal in 2016, it went on to become the biggest Bollywood blockbuster ever.
Are People Refusing to Work With Kangana?
Lately no established filmmaker in Bollywood has signed up for a project with Kangana. Apart from AL Vijay who is helming Thalaivi, both of Kangana’s other films, Tejas and Dhaakad are being directed by newcomers. Ace cinematographer and director PC Sreeram recently tweeted that he refused a film with Kangana in the lead because he felt uneasy about it.
On being asked if he would work with Kangana Ranaut, filmmaker Vikram Bhatt commented that while she is a good actor, he would be reduced to a clapper boy on the sets if he chose to work with her. Kangana has had a past record of tiffs with filmmakers over credits and control – first with Hansal Mehta while making Simran and then with Krish during Manikarnika. Filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj too has commented that he believed his film Rangoon did not work because his actors – Saif Ali Khan, Shahid Kapoor and Kangana Ranaut did not get along.
In an industry where you are only as good as your last hit, Kangana surely needs a big success at the box-office right now since her last bonafide hit was Tanu Weds Manu Returns in 2015. Since then, her films I Love NY, Katti Batti, Rangoon, Simran, Mental Hai Kya and Panga haven’t been commercial hits. Her directorial debut Manikarnika, in which she also played the title role, just broke even.
Interestingly, Kangana’s next release is about an actor turned politician who took on her adversaries with a vengeance. Will J Jayalalithaa’s life story, which Kangana so identifies with, bring back her box-office mojo? Let’s wait till Thalaivi storms into theatres.
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