Spoilers ahead…
You’ve never seen a Hindi-film heroine like Praful Patel – and part of it is how closely she seems to be modelled on the actress playing her, Kangana Ranaut. It isn’t just that she does her own thing, defiantly so. (She’s a divorcee, a housekeeper in a hotel in Atlanta.) It’s also that she gives us the sense – as Ranaut so often does – of being so full of her own awesomeness. She rebuffs a man walking up to her and celebrates like she got another opportunity to snub Karan Johar.
A line goes, “Namumkin ko mumkin karana Praful Patel ka kaam hai,” that she makes the impossible possible. We get the sense with Praful the sense we get with Kangana sometimes, that we don’t need to celebrate her. She’s busy celebrating herself. The early scenes of Hansal Mehta’s Simran – written by Apurva Asrani and Ranaut – celebrate Praful/Kangana, and then the film sends her crashing down to earth. (Simran, in other words, gives Praful what Rangoon gave Kangana: a massive reality check.)
The crux of the plot is that Praful has to scrounge up $50,000 in a few days. I loved that this amount isn’t to pay for an ailing parent or to get a business going, but the result of too much booze at a Las Vegas casino. It’s exactly the kind of gloriously nutty thing you think Ranaut might do – no one else would have the balls. You must forgive me for being boxed into this meta reading, for I could see Simran no other way. Or maybe I should say it makes sense no other way.
Because the film, otherwise, is wildly inconsistent, with wild changes in tone. There are sweet scenes with a suitor named Sameer (Sohum Shah). Then, Praful is getting kicked in the stomach by a gangster named Mr. Bugs (Jason Louder). But don’t feel too bad for her. Praful does some (figurative) stomach-kicking herself every time she raises her voice at her hapless father. It’s a Hollywoody story (you can imagine the Coen Brothers taking a shot at this screwball premise with dark overtones), but with a character you aren’t meant to feel sorry for. It’s clear that Praful’s desperation is her own doing. You just wait for her to climb out of it. Kangana… sorry, Praful, needs neither our sympathy nor our help. She’ll figure it out.
Take away the underwhelming gangster scenes, and there’s a great movie in here somewhere. I really enjoyed the scenes between Praful and Sameer. Sohum Shah does something tricky. He takes a character whose only quality is niceness and doesn’t make him a saint or a bore. He’s the stable kind of man a woman like Praful laughs at – she’d rather be hitting on a hottie in Vegas – but he gradually mellows her. The film doesn’t try for a second to convince us that she deserves him. Rather, we’re made to feel he could be her salvation – only, she doesn’t want to be saved.
Praful is a fabulous fuckup, and Ranaut plays these scenes so beautifully, so unapologetically, you want to shake Praful’s shoulders and make her see sense – if you could summon up the guts to approach her. This is a hugely enjoyable performance. It’s vain, narcissistic, it oftens bleeds over the character and into real life (but then I already told you that) – it’s also filled with a singular kind of energy. Watching Praful win big at baccarat and blow up the money on a dress or a gift (earlier, we’ve been told she’s a “pukki Gujarati,” who’s careful with money) is among the most fun I’ve had at the movies this year.
I wished the film had matched up. It’s not half bad. This is one of the rare instances the US doesn’t look shiny and plasticky, like a Christmas-tree ornament. The music is similarly real, understated. With Ranaut practically accommodating the orchestra in her portrayal, playing every instrument and waving the baton, a more melodramatic score would have been overkill. But the whimsy doesn’t work. Praful takes to robbing banks and these scenes are so slapsticky (all that’s missing is the banjo score from Bonnie and Clyde) that it’s hard to tell whether we’re meant to take all of it literally or if there are other notes being hit here. I wasn’t convinced.
The closing scenes are a beauty, though. The glimpse of a happy ending we got earlier is long gone – but it isn’t a sad end either. Another heroine would have been handed a couple of life lessons by now, but not Praful/Kangana. This is why she is Simran. The name comes from the climax of Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge where the father lets go of the daughter (named Simran), saying, “Jee le apni zindagi,” live your own life. The line is redundant. Praful/Kangana wouldn’t dream of living anyone else’s.
Copyright ©2017 Baradwaj Rangan. This article may not be reproduced in its entirety without permission. A link to this URL, instead, would be appreciated.
Baradwaj Rangan 
mostlycinema
September 19, 2017
The film can’t make up its mind about what its about – starting with the title. The most boring and contrived film I saw in recent times. You have noted the nice elements well – Sameer, not so shiny USA. The story of a determined woman slide into incomprehensible stupid, her completely improbable kind of bank robberies, the stock loan shark, nothing adds up. Kangana’s Gujju act fails to come together like her stellar characters in Tanu weds Manu 1 and 2. Note the early scene with her parents- its contrived and completely inorganic. The wild changes in tone which you note in review are the films undoing for me. Ultimately its all Kangana’s hubris and how a very good director got steamrolled into making a crap film thinking that he can break into the mainstream. Hansal Mehta loses big time, Kangana survives as she always does!
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mrinalnarayan
September 19, 2017
“you can imagine the Coen Brothers taking a shot at this screwball premise with dark overtones”
Hmm…Sort of a similar thought I had during the second half. They could have conceived a Breaking Bad out of it with an actress like Kangana. Was disappointed with the bipolar script
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Pavan
September 19, 2017
Judging a film which is trying to say “Don’t dare to judge this free spirited woman” is something already useless. At least when Ranaut is its face. It is similar to a line what Samantha once used about her numerous endorsement hoardings in Hyderabad (excessive to be frank), “Love me or hate me, you can’t ignore me.” Ranaut too cannot be ignored, and that pains when the film is bad.
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KaaviyaThalagani
September 19, 2017
But wasn’t Simran also the first character Kangana played on screen in Anurag Basu’s Gangster?
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Anu Warrier
September 19, 2017
I’m wondering if the chaos is because of the ‘additional screen writing’ credited to Ranaut? In an interview, Hansal Mehta had said that the original story was ‘sweet and sad’ (credit: Apurva Asrani) and that it changed when Ranaut came on board to become a ‘sassy comedy’.
I’m not too sure that Kangana’s inputs work.
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nikkie1602
September 19, 2017
This is not an inherently funny tale ( i am talking about the story of Sandeep Kaur) and I felt the film was trying too hard to make it one. Also, I thought there was too much of Rani in Kangna’s portrayal of Praful…the crying scene in the casino for example. Dont you think it was rather abrupt how Praful steals cash from the convenience store and then just goes on and robs a bank immediately after?
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Prashila
September 19, 2017
You must forgive me for being boxed into this meta reading, for I could see Simran no other way.
Sorry, can’t forgive BR. 🙂 Too much emphasis on Ranaut’s personality. Can’t we for once acknowledge it, then put it aside, and go back to the movie, which though I fully agree wasn’t that great shakes. The problem I see is that in falling back on her personality, we are more or less not crediting her performance enough which no one can deny was superb, almost flawless. It may have been her borrowing bits from her personality, but the whole needs to be called out for it is, brilliant.
I feel Hansal Mehta is most comfortable making gentle, tragic movies based on real life personalities. I still remember the last scene of Aligarh where Rajkumar Rao character learns of Siras’s death just as he is consoling a tribal woman who also seems to be grieving. I am yet to see a scene so full of the power of grief, it is almost profound with that whole life-moves-on but-nothing-should-stop-you-from-suffering-through-your-pain emotion. And so, I was kind of doubtful how this movie would turn out. I did a fair bit of reading on the real life Simran, Ms. Kaur, and she seems to be just as colorful as the character portrayed here. Also remember reading KR’s interview post the script controversy where she talks about the changes she did to the script so that it becomes more ‘box-office’ friendly so that her producers make some money off it and it just doesn’t end up becoming another critically acclaimed ‘flop’. And I could almost see these changes everytime the audience in my theatre burst out laughing. I am not sure how I feel about this but can anyone really blame the movie makers and KR for thinking on those lines, especially when there is much more at stake for her, given (here I will mention it) who she is and how much a box office flop would affect her. Not defending her, but it sure must be very tricky being in her position.
But all said, I liked this much more than Tanu weds Manu films and Queen which ironically gets called out as the more entertaining film, more well-made film, and also more ‘feminist’ which it probably is in a very simplistic-in-your-face manner. Even the scenes with the parents are so finely etched. I had a big smile on my face when Praful in that gorgeous purple wig (I want it so bad) is ready to go ‘rob’ a bank, when her mother calls her back inside for the dahi and then goes about the glow of her face and what not, even as we squirm with Praful for we have all been there. 🙂 And becoming a fan of Sohum Shah, who IMHO is so underrated. I liked him quite a lot in Talwar and here too he was as you have mentioned so well in tune with KR. I was mildly worried when he walks out on a maniacally yelling Praful, but then he does exactly what someone like him would do. It was lovely. Even the Arijit Singh song which seemed bizarre in promos seemed to find its place in the movie. Yes, the bank robbery scenes were lazy and Mr Buggs was as hilarious as the villains from Gunda, but the movie was unapologetic in showing who Simran is and that itself is commendable in a way a Queen never was. It was worth the trip to the theatre.
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Kid
September 19, 2017
Prashila:
“we are more or less not crediting her performance enough”
Umm… BR has an entire para here really praising Ranaut’s performance here (I doubt he has written a single piece where he has even praised an Amitabh Bachchan or a Naseeruddin shah like this..)
Exhibit A:
“Praful is a fabulous fuckup…among the most fun I’ve had at the movies this year.” Notice the words and phrases here – “plays those scenes so beautifully; hugely enjoyable performance; singular kind of energy; among the most fun at the movies this year”. Yes the para does focus on the meta part of the performance but it also goes much beyond it provided one is willing to read the piece with some amount of patience (apologies if this soumds patronising)
Exhibit B: Now here is how Baradwaj Rangan gives us a crash course on performance appraisal… where he goes beyond simply stating whether a performance is great or terrible.. he makes sure that the appraisal is very specific to that particular performance (one of BR’s greatest strengths as a critic is to combine a very sensory kind of writing with great amount of specificity.. i think at his best he does this better than even Ebert though to be fair I have never been a great fan of the latter). Here is that outstanding and outstandingly specific and detailed remark-
“With Ranaut practically accommodating the orchestra in her portrayal, playing every instrument and waving the baton, a more melodramatic score would have been overkill”.
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Vanya
September 20, 2017
First off, I agree with pretty much everything Prashila said. I think drama plays better to Hansal Mehta’s strengths, but I’m having a hard time picturing this movie without the comedic tone.
One thing that struck me halfway was that my personality is the polar opposite of Praful’s, and on paper, everything about her choices should have annoyed me. And yet, I was heavily invested in Praful and hoping for her to miraculously find a solution to her increasingly insurmountable problems — I don’t think anyone else could have sold me on to such a character the way Kangana did. Also, mad props to the writers for so richly populating the movie with Praful’s choices. A lot of them were absolutely shitty. But they were HER choices. I can’t think of many Indian movies that have allowed their heroine such agency, and this point was really driven home with the clip from DDLJ.
But personally, I didn’t see much similarity between Praful and Kangana, aside from their belief in themselves, I guess. To me, Kangana’s defining trait is her commitment to her craft and her willingness to work towards improving her skills; Praful seemed to lack direction in life and didn’t have much of a long-term plan beyond buying an apartment to gain complete freedom.
Finally, it saddens me to see all the talk about hubris and Kangana celebrating herself. She turned in a superlative performance in Rangoon; she has every reason to be proud of her contribution. So, why hubris? Maybe I’m not as sensitized to it, but I don’t see as much mention of SRK’s arrogance in discussions of his performance in movies. Somehow, his self-confidence is viewed as being warranted. This reminds me of Mindy Kaling’s comments about how people always ask her where she gets her confidence, and how it reflects what they’re really thinking — “what makes you think you’re worth anything?”
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sanjana
September 20, 2017
Srk is also bashed for his so called hubris or whatever. Some are put off by her constant whining and also boasting about 3 national awards in every second interview. Inspite of all that her acting saves her.
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brangan
September 20, 2017
Kid: Thank you for the kind words, but also for — as you say — reading with patience. The intent was not to diss Kangana at all, but more to try and explain why character and star kept conflating in my viewing.
Vanya: Which part of this review did you feel I was talking about Kangana’s “hubris”? If you’re talking about “being so full of her own awesomeness,” I mean this as an observation and not judgement. It’s nice to see someone not be politically correct, to see someone brim over with the feeling that “I rock.” I’d be a much better interviewer if I had half her confidence 🙂
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sanjana
September 20, 2017
I think Vanya is referring to the first comment.
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Aditya (Gradwolf)
September 20, 2017
Agree with everything Prashila and Vanya have said, and also think that there’s no apology necessary for this reading of a film where there’s a major dialog in a major scene that goes – tum shaant baitne walon mein se to nahin ho – and Kangana has writing credits.
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Luna Lovegood
September 20, 2017
Anu Warrier : I read a Facebook post by the original writer, and he claimed both kangana and Hansal had given him some inputs, but they weren’t significant enough to be given additional credit. Kangana also seems to have claimed that Hansal had approached her with a one line story and that she had developed it in an interview.
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Naveen
September 20, 2017
BR, can FC get you to interview KR? it would be really rocking
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Vanya
September 20, 2017
@BR: This line — “Simran, in other words, gives Praful what Rangoon gave Kangana: a massive reality check.” It implies that she (Kangana) was wrong to celebrate herself, and it colored my interpretation of everything else you said. Thanks for clarifying that you intended something different.
Agree about her confidence. I fear that I may never outgrow the “fake it” portion of “fake it till you make it”. 😀
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snehal
September 20, 2017
I have the same request as Naveen: Can FC get you to interview KR. Actually, I have a list – Shahrukh Khan, Imtiaz Ali, SLB, Ranbir Kapoor, Amit Trivedi to start with 🙂
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Prashila
September 21, 2017
Kid, I am writing this only because you mentioned ‘patronizing’. I personally dislike being patronized and also equally dislike patronizing others. So, not sure if the first paragraph of my comment was in any way pointing fingers at BR. Certainly not, and if it came across that way, then well I would like to apologize to BR.
I wrote that comment because BR started the review saying he could not separate Simran from Kangana. And nowhere did I say (or so I thought) that he does not appreciate her work in Simran. And this is the same BR who in the ‘TWM returns’ review wrote that just because this is a light hearted movie, KR’s performance should not end up missing on all the accolades it deserves. So back to this post, he did praise her here too, but when there are around 3 paragraphs on the meta reading and that too right at the start of the review, I for one wasn’t sure how much of this praise was for purely her performance in the sense of the character she plays in the movie and how much comes from the baggage of her real life personality and fabulousness. This to me is a problem. And I am allowed to feel that no? And also allowed to write it down no? For the record, and BR knows it too, I am a huge fan of his writing, both in terms of its craft and content. Heck, I even possible contribute three digit views to this blog on a weekly basis. 🙂 But that does not take away from the fact that I can strongly not agree to a particular point he makes. And when I mention it here (which I try to do very rarely because like in this case, you don’t know when a casual comment can turn into mild negativity), I am doing just that, mentioning, not at all asking him to change his reading, or asking anyone to change their reading of how such interpretations work for them.
Vanya, thanks. It is almost like you sniff the fog in my head and turn it into wonderfully coherent sentences. 🙂 I had SRK all along in my mind when writing the comment, but wasn’t sure in what context till I read what you wrote.
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avik
September 21, 2017
😛 😛
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sanjana
September 21, 2017
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/omg-apurva-asrani-releases-script-simran-salman-khan-link/
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Doba
September 21, 2017
Brangan, this is in response to your comment – you are definitely a fabulous interviewer :). Like so many others, I wish you could interview most of these creative people so that we actually get a sense of what drives them.
I have not watched most of Kangana’s interviews and am not very well informed of her many statements. I am likewise quite ignorant about the movies and visit the blog mostly because I like the humor and passion in your writing. So I am coming from a place of tremendous ignorance. But I find it interesting that her personality is polarizing. Some like her for her gumption and honesty while others may agree with what she says (to differing extents) but wish she would mix it up with some self deprecating humor. Either ways, what a unique individual! Perhaps her own life will become a movie someday. But perhaps not! She has disclosed too much and probably there is no mystery left.
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Naveen
September 22, 2017
BR, if wishes were horses, would love to watch your interview of Rekha
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Anu Warrier
September 25, 2017
With Apurva Asrani releasing his original script for the film, I’m not too sure I can commend Kangana for her script-writing abilities. At the very least, she seems to have blatantly lied when she said she was given a one-line script which she expanded upon. 😦
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sanjana
September 25, 2017
Lying, plagiarism of many hues and yet finding impossible defenders. Famous self proclaimed greatest journalist was also exposed with solid proofs but defenders will not believe.
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MANK
September 26, 2017
Anu, that’s right . its one thing to expose the hypocrisy, nepotism , sexism etc etc in the industry, but to run roughshod over your director and writer and mess up your own film is Career suicide.
Brangan is right about Rangoon being a reality check,She is undoubtedly the most talented actress in bollywood, no questions about it, but if an actress repeatedly calls herself the highest paid actress in town and being a star equal to khans and stuff like that, then merely giving a good performance is not enough, she has to deliver the numbers at the box office and the bitter truth is that she has delivered 4 back to back disasters.
Raja sen’s puff piece comparing her to Aamir Khan was cringe worthy. its one thing to interfere and having the talent to make it a much much better film and another thing to interfere to make it worse.
Sanjana , i am afraid the knives are out
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/kangana-ranaut-queen-falls-grace-bites-dust/
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Vanya
September 26, 2017
@Anu: I’ve seen many references to her claiming she was given a one-line screenplay, but they all cite Asrani. Do you know where she originally made that claim? In an interview I saw from Spotboye (sp?), she suggested their scriptwriting was an iterative process and didn’t seem particularly interested in calling herself a writer.
@MANK: that piece was a depressing read.
Btw, Simran has an interesting distribution of votes on IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6405126/ratings?ref_=tt_ov_rt
Not sure what a good control movie would be, but I looked up Finding Fanny and didn’t observe such a stark gender difference. Things that make you go hmmmm…
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sanjana
September 26, 2017
http://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/apurva-asrani-on-kangana-ranaut-i-will-not-participate-in-the-changing-narratives-of-the-simran-credit-controversy-4788778/
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Anu Warrier
September 26, 2017
MANK, true – if you make grandiose statements, then you need to back them up. Unfortunately, heroine-oriented movies just don’t make the box-office sing the way the Khan trio’s movies do. Even there, SRK is witnessing his fall from grace – he hasn’t had a ‘super hit’ in years. However, he still pulls the audiences in. (There, I stand by her statement that she doesn’t want to be arm candy in a Khan movie; I like her standing up for her right to actually have a role worthy of her craft.)
My problem with Kangana is two fold – at some point, she seems to believe her own stories, and they contradict each other at some given point. As the narrative shifts, I find myself losing my empathy (and sympathy) for her. I find her a fairly complex actress, and I think she’s a brilliant performer, and I wish she would make another Queen, not necessarily that same genre or character but a role that is worthy of her talent. (Not her idea of aggrandisement.) I have no wish to celebrate her fall from grace and I find it seriously disturbing that it is happening. (But then, that is a gender-equal exercise!)
@Vanya – can’t recollect offhand where I read it, but this was pre-Simran’s release, while the film was still being shot. It was interview with her and with Hansal Mehta and it seemed odd to me even at the time that the film came to her as a one-line idea. If I come across it again, I shall link it here.
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Anu Warrier
September 27, 2017
She is undoubtedly the most talented actress in bollywood
Is she? The best, I mean? I disagree.
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MANK
September 27, 2017
Anu, yeah i do think so,because on one hand you have these wonderful performers like Anushka , parineethi and Alia , but they are more spontaneous performers and would struggle if they have to do a role that requires a little ‘Work’, if you know what i mean. Alia was superb in Udta punjab which required some work , but still, i feel it was in her comfort zone. Then on the other hand there is Vidya who is all work , the method actress, who is not all that spontaneous , but in her method zone like, the Kahaani films , she is brilliant.An Alia or Anushka would not have pulled of those roles. Kangana is a perfect balance of both, as you could see in the same film,Tanu weds manu returns, one of the performances is really loose and spontaneous , while in the other , she changes her appearance, her body language, her voice . she is equally brilliant in both. could she have pulled off the Kahaani films as well as vidya?, maybe not to that extend of depth and intensity, but she still would have been really good .
Another thing is about her screen presence , her beauty and charisma. From my perspective , she has oodles of it, more than the other actresses i mentioned. she comes across as this complete package to me with that old world star mystique that was missing for a long time in hindi films, perhaps since Sridevi and Madhuri. That’s why i am so depressed and disappointed with the recent turn in her career. In recent interview with Anupama chopra- the only interview in recent times where she talked about her work and not her controversies- she goes very deep in to her craft. Its really interesting to hear her talk about how she approaches the roles, how much thought she puts in to her performances.
She should have been celebrated for these artistic virtues, But its too bad that she has been hijacked by a section of the media which is using her for cheap sensationalism. Once they are done with her , they are going to dump her for sure.It’s already started.
Somebody like Anushka Sharma is now doing more with her career and for the issues that Kangana has been raising more than Kangana herself. Anushka has launched her own production company. she has made a couple of films in which she got to play interesting roles. She also speaks out against the double standards in the industry, but she is doing it without resorting to sensationalism and she understands her limitations as an actress and a star and she is going at a steady pace developing her career.That’s how Kangana should have been going, rather than alienating th entire industry .I dont know which filmmaker is going to work with her after this. Her legacy is going to be only about her controversies and not her work.which is such a pity.
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Anuja Chandramouli
September 27, 2017
I think Kangana is brilliant and take inordinate pride in the fact that I had predicted her rise to the top after watching Gangster. Was really happy for her after the success of Queen and Tanu weds Manu returns. However, nowadays I am mostly impatient with her offscreen shenanigans. The whole imbroglio with Asrani was the final straw. It’s bad enough that writers seldom get their due with the Stars and directors getting the entire credit but to have someone like Kangana use her star wattage to hijack a department she is not really great at (despite what she might believe) really makes my blood boil. So fie on Kangana!
The public declaration that she will only work in films where she gets to write the script and wield the directorial baton really makes me wonder if she may not have a touch of megalomania at the very least. I mean c’mon!
MANK is right, if she doesn’t get her act together and fast at that, this is going to be a trainwreck and a phenomenal waste of genius.
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sanjana
September 27, 2017
She may try to change herself but who will trust her?
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Anu Warrier
September 27, 2017
MANK, I disagree. Kangana is a brilliant actress, but I would put Radhika Apte, Richa Chhaddha, Vidya Balan et al in that group without a second thought. She’s good, but not as good as she thinks she is. (I hated her in the second Tanu Weds Manu – well, let me put it this way – I hated one Kangana in the movie; I thought she hammed it to the hilt. The other one, the athlete, she was brilliant!)
As to her off-screen shenanigans, there’s a level of delusion there – I agree with Anuja: when someone says he/she will only act in films that are scripted/directed by her because no one else can do justice to her talent is a statement that makes my eyebrows disappear into my hairline. When she falls into one controversy after another, and the other person is always wrong and she’s the one fighting on the side of ‘right’ and ‘justice’, it begins to get tiring. (And to have Raja Sen equate her with Aamir Khan makes me wonder what he was smoking!)
I do agree with you that I like the way Anushka is quietly making changes. Anushka is as opinionated and as self-willed as Kangana is, and she’s putting her money where her mouth is – in my opinion, she’s done more for the cause of parity than anyone else. I also like Deepika and Priyanka demanding equal rights; didn’t Dips make news for being paid higher than her male co-stars for Padmavati. Go on, fight the good fight, but don’t play the victim card every time you get checked. Especially not when the other person involved has proof of his/her truth (as Asrani did, when he released his version of the script).
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MANK
September 27, 2017
Sanjana , i dont think she is capable of changing herself, if she were to change , then i dont think she will remain the performer that she is. Both seems to be closely intertwined.
Anu,OK i disagree with you on her TWMR performance, but that’s fair enough that’s your personal preference. Agreed on all counts with the rest of your comment ,especially about her off screen shenanigans.
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MANK
September 27, 2017
when someone says he/she will only act in films that are scripted/directed by her because no one else can do justice to her talent is a statement that makes my eyebrows disappear into my hairline.
Ha Ha haa, it reminds me of the scene from Udayananu tharam where Sreenivasan as Saroj kumar makes a similar statement and Jagathy as Pachalam Bhasi advises him ” Please don’t do direction, that’s for intelligent people” 🙂
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Madan
September 27, 2017
“But its too bad that she has been hijacked by a section of the media which is using her for cheap sensationalism. ” – She has not been hijacked. She chose to use them for her purpose. Which is fine. Aamir Khan used to raise issues at an opportune moment (close to a film release) as well. But when you talk a big talk, you got to walk a pretty big walk too. If her film tanks after she berates its director and co-script writer, she will be left with all the blame. Right now, her situation is more like Narendra Modi than that of Aamir Khan. If you want to hog all the credit, you can’t run away from the blame.
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The Ghost Who Walks
October 4, 2017
I feel the phrase Grandeur of Delusion was made for Kangana. I honestly believe that she has been put on the pedestal by the media not for her on-screen success (which are significant, no doubt) but for the off-screen persona.
Anu Warrier
When she falls into one controversy after another, and the other person is always wrong and she’s the one fighting on the side of ‘right’ and ‘justice’, it begins to get tiring.
This. The most visible example is how she and her sister responded to Asrani on the nepotism debate, when he said some thing on the lines of how her sister working for Kangana is also kind of nepotism. Instead of a reasonable response to a debate that she started in the first place, all we got was vitriol and another dose of every one against her narrative.
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MANK
October 5, 2017
http://businessofcinema.com/bollywood_news/hrithik-roshan-makes-first-ever-statement-kangana-ranaut-issue/413528
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Navneeth
October 5, 2017
Glad that Hrithik has finally spoken out.
“This is not, and I repeat, not a lovers spat. I humbly request people to stop labelling it as one and, for a second, try and see it for what it really is.”
“An alleged seven-year long, passionate affair between two high profile celebrities with no trail left behind… Nothing that constitutes an exchange or any sort of proof of a romantic relationship. Yet we want to believe the other party because the rhetoric is – why would a girl lie.”
That last line sums it up.
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magz
October 5, 2017
This has happened to too many actresses in the past. An affair with a successful lead actor, affair ends, the actress gets mad and gives statement to the press damaging the actors’ reputation. The actress is slut shamed, called names and is branded as delusional, schizophrenic etc by the public and media. The names that is on top of my head to whom this has happened in the past are Rekha, Parveen Babi, Zeenath Aman and now Kangana.
The ones who recover and don’t go down the self destructive, damaging path after a high profile affair are the ones with a very strong family support system. Someone like a Deepika who got out of the Ranbir phase thanks to her solid family support.
I am not taking sides and one will never know who is right or wrong but I am glad that both the parties get to have their say directly through social media unlike in the past where they had to rely on gossip magazines to put their word out.
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Anu Warrier
October 5, 2017
@magz, I think, in all those cases you mentioned, there was enough gossip about those actresses and the actors they were involved with. Rekha was never made out to be delusional. (Though, when I hear her speak some times, I think she’s deliberately delusional – as in, not mentally delusional, but purposely obfuscating her past. Which is fine – I don’t think I need to be privy to her personal life.) Neither was Zeenat. From what I can remember, she wasn’t even excoriated for having an affair with a married man – on the other hand, there was a lot of sympathy for her when she got beaten up by Sanjay Khan in the lobby of a five-star hotel.
Parveen was the only one who was deemed schizophrenic by the magazines; however, she did have mental health issues – perhaps not schizophrenia, but there was something wrong. By the time she got around to ‘Bachchan is paying the CIA to murder me’, she was beyond help. It is an unfortunate truth that mental health is not taken seriously enough – which is why I’m glad that actresses like Deepika are speaking out about their bouts of depression.
I’m not sure what the truth is, in this context [Kangana-Hrithik]; but I will say that I agree with Roshan’s statement that such a high-profile ‘affair’ couldn’t have been hidden for seven years – not in an age where every cellphone is a camera, and every cell-phone possessor is self-appointed papparazzi. In today’s times, it’s almost impossible to hide an affair when the alleged participants are celebrities. At some point, there would have been talk of their closeness. (Such as Roshan’s and Barabara Mori’s (during the Kite shooting – which is when Kangana claims to have begun her affair with Hrithik).
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Jai
October 5, 2017
@Magz….regarding the Kangana—Hrithik fracas, I don’t think that Kangana has been widely slut shamed by the media or by the general public at all. On the contrary, she seems to have gained far more sympathy and supportive coverage; and reactions from within the industry itself, had tended to be warily neutral with several coming out in favour of Kangana (much to Hrithik’s distress).
This latest round of tu tu main main is squarely down to Kangana and no one else. There was a well publicised agreement between the parties to withdraw their cases against each other and to bury the issue. Hrithik’s camp by and large, seems to have adhered to that arrangement once the cases were withdrawn. Kangana uses every platform she can get to keep rehashing the issue. At least one reporter has gone on record stating that when no questions about Hrithik were asked during the interview, Kangana insisted that she be asked on this. Why? Hasn’t she had enough opportunity and more to explain her side of the story already?
I don’t know the truth of the matter either. I don’t find it particularly believable that there was nothing ever between them. I don’t believe everything Hrithik is saying. BUT Kangana’s take has kept fluctuating so much, that it’s disingenuous and credulous to take her word as gospel truth. Unfortunately, there is a significant section of the media and the public who seem to feel that if one questions Kangana’s inconsistent versions, one is being anti feminism.
Off the top of my mind, Kangana has gone on record claiming a romantic proposal at the Eiffel Tower, during a time when Hrithik’s passport conclusively proved he hadn’t left the country.
Kangana slammed Hrithik for making her private emails to him public….and he received a lot of flak for that. She insisted that she had indeed been corresponding with Hrithik, and that his statement that she was corresponding with an imposter was false and misleading. But she now claims it was Hrithik who had hacked into her account and written all those emails to himself all along! Apparently none of the emails were sent by her!!!
Which one is it? She can’t possibly have it both ways!
She keeps making snide remarks that Hrithik’s father speaks on his behalf…..but apparently there’s nothing wrong in her sister making vitriolic remarks on Kangana’s behalf. And if someone responds to Rangoli’s harsh remarks, Kangana accuses them of dragging in an acid attack survivor into a tangled mess. Again, while I have tremendous sympathy and respect for someone who has survived and overcome such a horrific crime, one can’t expect to dish out harsh public remarks and expect them to go unchallenged.
Lastly, Kangana has, for some reason, refused to surrender her laptops and phones for forensic analysis. It would be easy, if she surrendered them, to establish if any emails were sent from there or not. So why the refusal?
Again, I’m not trying to say that Kangana is completely lying and Hrithik is completely telling the truth. But if one has grown up reading Agatha Christie and Georgette Heyer mysteries, and one were to be confronted with as many inexplicable inconsistencies and fluctuating positions as Kangana has put forward, one could at least conclude she is heavily embellishing the truth. That she is/was obsessed with Hrithik is quite evident…. in the way she absolutely refuses to let the issue die down, in interview after interview.
Please….can we all just view this as an unfortunate, awkward situation between 2 consenting adults. A relationship which sours is always painful and bitter, especially if one party never took it as seriously as the other. BUT this particular case is being hyped as a feminist issue, with a lady struggling against tremendous odds. That’s unfortunate and inaccurate. Kangana has power and influence and is media savvy, and has used every opportunity to build a very favourable coverage to her side of the story (as she is fully entitled to do). But building a victim narrative around her and leaping reflexively to her defence no matter what, is patronising and smacks of condescension. Questioning the loopholes and inaccuracies in Kangana’s take is an issue of truth, consistency and the law itself. NOT an anti feminist stance.
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Anu Warrier
October 5, 2017
@Jai, honestly, the case is getting even more bizarre. Kangana’s sister seems to have gone off her rockers, if her tweets are anything to go by. She claims Roshan sent the emails through iPad, not a laptop. But if all of HR’s electronic equipment are with the cops (and none of Kangana’s are) then that shouldn’t be a hassle, right? Saying that a ‘young, beautiful girl’ like Kangana didn’t need to stalk an ‘uncle like him [HR]’ when Kangana has been shouting hoarse about their 7-year-long affair goes beyond delusional – talk about contradicting oneself!
And to say that HR was after Kangana and not the other way around! Considering all the talking about this issue has been from Kangana’s side, and not HR’s, the charge that HR is ‘raking it all up again’ seems laughable.
I’m gobsmacked.
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Jai
October 6, 2017
@ Anu: Honestly this case is so very bizarre it can be made into a movie!! But like you said, one would assume that if Hrithik’s I phone is also with the cops (his statement says that his laptop and phones have been handed over), then why is the fact that some mails were purportedly sent from his iPad, a problem?
Funnily enough, Rangoli doesn’t address the elephant in the room. Why Kangana hasn’t handed over her laptop/mobiles. One is forced to wonder is this isn’t a convenient ommission……
Both sisters seem to have an issue with consistency and accuracy in their statements. Again, I’m really wondering why on earth, when an agreement was supposedly reached months back to withdraw cases and bury the issue, why Kangana couldn’t have just held her peace. She’d already got a huge amount of favourable coverage, and it was she who was generally believed/supported. Her absolute refusal to let the issue die down, and insistence on making caustic remarks in interview after interview, certainly seems to show her in an obsessive light.
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Anu Warrier
October 6, 2017
@Jai, if we saw it on screen, we would think it implausible. 🙂
What gets me (apart from the many inconsistencies in both sisters’ statements) is the level of vitriol considering the end of a consensual relationship, if any. I have to admire HR for taking the high road and not attacking/insulting Kangana. Neither he nor Rajesh Roshan have ever said anything other than the facts as pertain to HR or the case.
Plus, Rangoli’s comment that if Kangana hadn’t been in films, she would have called HR ‘uncle’ seems rather ironic, considering that Kangana’s first attachment was to Aditya Pancholi, who was old enough to be her father.
If there was a relationship, then by Kangana’s own words, it was consensual. Where the heck are the media getting the ‘HR exploited Kangana’ angle from?
I agree with Madan – if the media are sensationalising this case, it is because Kangana is providing them the fodder. She is not being ‘used’. She’s doing as much ‘using’. Which, again, I have no problem with her doing so – the relationship between media and entertainment is a symbiotic one; they both need the other. I just wish she had used a different nail to hammer. She’s a good actress; she doesn’t need to drum up this sort of publicity. Unless, her vision of herself as the feminist activist leading a charge against all industry evils has become her truth.
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olemisstarana
October 8, 2017
I’m not sure if Rangoli’s tweets are more entertaining than a certain idiot-in-chief’s. Actually they are. At least Rangoli’s hypocritical, victim complex-y, appallingly spelled drivel won’t end up in nuclear war. I just want to ask her to take several seats. Honestly. ALL the cache that Kangana has earned with her blood sweat and tears is being squandered by this passably articulate woman with the best of intentions. SHuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuHHHHHT up sweet jesus.
(This is with regard to her early morning toilet tweeting regarding Susanne Roshan’s private life. I can’t believe how entertaining this is. Typing this as our outrage-mascot Arnab Goswami is trilling “People want to know…”)
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Anu Warrier
October 8, 2017
@MissTarana, the khichdi is getting even more complicated. Aditya Pancholi has gone on record saying that it is Kangana who is tweeting from Rangoli’s Twitter handle – he recognises the spelling and punctuation patterns from when they were in a relationship. Curiouser and curiouser is her/Rangoli’s claim that a) Hrithik had another email id from where he was responding to her emails b) he hacked into Kangana’s email and deleted all his emails to prove she was insane c) he hacked into her email and wrote all those emails himself. Now. They can’t all be true. So, which is it?
What bothers me (because I do want to be able to stand up for someone who is being slandered) is that she refuses to hand over her phone and laptop with the most specious of excuses. Whereas HR’s electronic devices are all with the cops. So why not provide her devices instead of providing specious reasons like, ‘The phone fell in the pool’ and ‘The laptop battery is dead’ – the cops can still access her hard drive, you know.
The one piece of ‘evidence’ she put foward (or someone put forward on her behalf) is that photograph of the two of them. Unfortunately, that was proved to be a group photo at the promotion of Kites. 😦
And to drag Susanne into this imbroglio is Just. Not. Done. Fight fair, if fight you must. Kangana is beginning to lose what credibility she had at the beginning of this saga, but that’s no reason to drag someone else through the mud. Especially since Susanne has only defended her ex-husband, not attacked Kangana.
My head is beginning to hurt – I don’t like slander, gender be damned. And if a woman is doing the slandering, she doesn’t get a pass because she is a woman.
Please don’t remind me of our twitter-in-chief? Please? My PTSD still gives me recurring nightmares.
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Vivek narain
October 9, 2017
Any day i would prefer an episode of, I love lucy, to these desi movies, what with Arnaz being so ‘Desi’. These vulpine actresses running after hunks who are unchivalrous cads, is too obvious a publicity gimmick. Perhaps to expect a comely wench like Saroja Devi to exist in these cutthroat times, is a dream of an incorrigible dreamer.
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olemisstarana
October 9, 2017
Vivek narain: “Wench”…?
Did you fall off the donkey cart on your way to a Game of Thrones audition?
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Vivek narain
October 9, 2017
What’s wrong with the word ‘wench’ or do you mean to complement me by connoting the greatest knight errant, Don Quixote or for that matter,the knight who escorted Alice in ‘through the looking glass’.
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Madan
October 9, 2017
Idiot in chief…took me a bit of time to work it out but twitter was a yuuuge hint.
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olemisstarana
October 9, 2017
Vivek narain: Please put your English to Middle English thesaurus down and back away slowly. I do you no “complement.” Wench is no way to refer to a woman.
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Kay
October 9, 2017
Olemiss: That was sublime! 😂😂
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Vivek narain
October 9, 2017
Actually one does get tipsy after smoking pot with a dash of cocaine for extra high, and all that fuss just because needle of morphia was probably spurious stuff. Next time i’ll fasten my legs to the donkey cart by ripping of the seat belts of my wagon r.
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Vivek narain
October 9, 2017
And i did mean ‘complement’, being a freshly knighted foot loose cavalier, i shouldn’t look for compliments.
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Kay
October 9, 2017
Vivek narain: It doesn’t hurt to refer the dictionary at times. Especially when there are homophones involved. And, comely wench like Saroja Devi? I just died laughing. That’s wrong on so many levels.
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Vivek narain
October 9, 2017
Kay, the merrian-dictionary or oxford dictionaries or urban dictionary, all start the definition with; a girl a woman. urban dictionary details the meaning as a woman of domestic and kitchen interests. In any case i meant the screen persona of Saroja Devi not the real life woman.
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Vivek narain
October 9, 2017
Consider this
http://www.talkapedia.com/2006/02/wench-is-not-bad-word.html?m=1
hope this should do
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Silverambrosia
October 9, 2017
Rangoli states that “Kangana is the chosen one’. I think it’s amply clear that Kangana herself shares this sentiment. Her megalomania and the uncontrolled vitriol she spews at anyone who contradicts her (unsubstantiated) claims, is going to do her a lot of damage in the long run. Who would want to work with a person like this? Horrible.
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Anu Warrier
October 9, 2017
@Vivek Narain, I don’t know what you’re smoking, but it is the Merriam Webster dictionary, not the Merrian, it is compliment, not ‘complement’, a woman is definitely is not a ‘wench’, no matter how many archaic meanings you dig out… and it would help if – we have a saying in Malayalam – ‘Urulanda, mone. Chali aavum’ – or, in other words, stop doubling down on your mistakes when it’s pointed out to you, and perhaps, back away slowly from using arcane words.
If not, the 1800s called you – they want you back.
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olemisstarana
October 9, 2017
Vivek narain: I will play your game.
“Kay, the merrian-dictionary or oxford dictionaries or urban dictionary, all start the definition with; a girl a woman.”
Do you read the first half of a definition and go on your quixotic way, confident the rest will resolve itself satisfactorily? Do you also zip your pants up partways, peel a banana till the equator, stick a key in a lock and hope it will turn itself , read half a book and imagine the rest etc.? Also, we are using urban dictionary as a source now, are we? If we are, may I then interest you in this totally verified, 100% accurate definition of “porn”?
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=porn&defid=1843828
Go ahead. I’m waiting.
“Consider this
http://www.talkapedia.com/2006/02/wench-is-not-bad-word.html?m=1
hope this should do”
Considered. No.
Re: your dalliances with substances – my poison of choice is caffeine. You should try it sometime. And your disingenuous little backtrack – “screen persona of Saroja Devi, not the real life woman” – in a discussion about a real life exchange between a real actress and a real actor who are not acting out a scripted role or living a screen persona… really? Come now.
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Vivek narain
October 9, 2017
@ole… the pot thing was a wisecrack, as such my poison is same as yours, though occasionally i yearn for a 90ml of Teachers, eventually settling for vodka with lime and syrup. My only doctrine is to liven up things as against the only doctrine of Wolf Larsen,the doctrine of expediency. Spicing up a drab setting is my forte. And what KR is doing is very similar, personally i consider HR to be the lone glamour king after a hiatus of 30 yrs when Devanand, Shammi kapoor, Jeetendra finished their innings at the start of 70s. For me the only gorgeous female star is Vijayanthimala, i don’t watch movies any more other than the gutsy hollywoods like Casino royale or Crank, both of them 11 year old.
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olemisstarana
October 10, 2017
Vivek narain: That’s olemisstarana to you, gentle sir. 🙂
Spice up, you did – consider me the the resident kvetcher who shows up once in a while like a swarm of cantankerous locusts. Please do watch more movies and comment some more. However, I can’t promise not to be crotchety if the occasion calls for it. Cheers.
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Anu Warrier
October 10, 2017
Oh, my. Now the Women’s Commission has jumped into the ring to give lie to Kangana’s statement (in the Aap ki Adaalat interview) that they refused to help her because of the Roshans’ pressure tactics. The chairperson has categorically stated that they were never approached. (And I’m focusing on this trainwreck so I can avoid the trainwreck in the White House, where Wife#1 is bandying words with Wife#3 on who is actually First Lady. Sigh.)
Can someone shut Twitter down? Then perhaps we won’t be in danger of a nuclear war, or have people washing all kinds of dirty linen in public.
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Vivek narain
October 10, 2017
There was the affair of Eve Marlow and Clive Thurston (EVE bv j.h.chase) that had a grim and prosaic ending. But i much prefer the saga of Juana Roca and Val Cade (CADE again by j.h.chase) the agony and ecstasy (cliched, tired words, precise nevertheless) of Cade, his poetic martyrdom, can only be penned by the modern bard, James Hadley Chase.
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Sifter
October 25, 2017
I watched it on Amazon Prime and it is categorized under Comedy. Go figure!
The review is good, but I did get a feeling (can’t explain it why), though that you are a reluctant-fan of Kangana…As in you can’t ignore her flawless performances as a critic, so set it out into beautifully crafted sentences, but there is an underlying tone which conveys that you are not a willing fan of her talents.
@Prashila- I agree, Kangana’s performance is nothing short of brilliant. And you said what I thought too (That this is better than TWM films and Queen). The purple wig scene was one big lol moments for me too!
@MANK- I agree with your ‘if she were to change , then i don’t think she will remain the performer that she is. Both seems to be closely intertwined.’
To those who commented that the scenes with her parents were inorganic- I found it to be fully refreshing. For the sole reason that the dynamic between the father and the daughter is totally different than our usual movies. There is acrimony, hatred, selfishness, manipulation, and resignation. The mother for a change is indulging with a daughter, We normally see extreme indulgence with only sons in our movies, not daughters. We see a entitled daughter. Kangana and Hiten Kumar were brilliant in these scenes.
Hubris? Why has this word suddenly gained so much importance when discussing Kangana’s performance? I am not a fan of Kangana’s public persona, yet I find her an effing brilliant performer. As an actor/actress she is captivating, enchanting, in-your-face, unapologetic, charismatic, makes you want to wring her neck (character’s neck I mean!) and is not credited enough (going by comments) in my opinion.
The robbery scenes being improbable? Why? It was delicious. Wish it was more elaborate 🙂
That clip from DDLJ and her taking up an alter-ego named Simran was delicious irony 😊
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