Kangana Ranaut says she had to refuse Khan-led films, Kumar-led films for female centric films

Actor Kangana Ranaut on Friday shared that she had to refuse a lot of “big hero films” in order to do “female-centric films”. She was speaking at the trailer launch of her upcoming action thriller Dhaakad in Mumbai.
Kangana said, “In so many ways the audience is also ready for women to take the lead. Another aspect is that I have had my own fair share of low points when I refused a lot of male-centric films, you know Khan-led films or Kumar-led films, all kinds of big hero films.”
Kangana Ranaut is one of the most successful female heroines in the Hindi film industry. The actor said that while she didn’t plan the success, she had a vision for it.

Kangana said, “When you have a vision for the future, they say what’s wrong with her as this is the best time of her life. They say, ‘What are you doing? This is the best time of your life. Why are you saying no to these films? Why aren’t you at award functions? Why are you standing against fashion magazines? Why are you wasting your life?’ I would wonder why they think I am wasting my life. How do they think I have come so far? Do they think it is accidental? It was because I always thought that I also deserve as much as anybody else, and why should I think of me as a lesser being. I always had this vision that this (pointing towards Dhaakad poster) is possible. This day is possible. Of course, I did not plan it but I had the vision. I can’t execute it alone. You need somebody like (director) Razneesh Ghai, or (producers) Deepak Mukut and Sohail Maklai. I’d say that for a woman to have a successful journey, so many men have to support her. So, it is a combination of many things. I won’t say that it was entirely accidental. I can’t even say that I made it happen. I had a vision, and many things came together.”
The team of Dhaakad at the film’s trailer launch. (Photo: Varinder Chawla)
When Kangana Ranaut was asked about her favourite Hindi action heroine, she said, “Heroines in Hindi films have not got that opportunity.” When Kangana was reminded that veteran female stars like Rekha and Hema Malini have done action films too, the actor said, “Of course, they’ve been great. They’ve been amazing for their times. What we are doing today, it is because of them. They have carved the way for us. They have made a way for girls. The privileges that we enjoy today as leading ladies, they’ve given it to us. Now our duty is to take it forward for the coming generation and take it a notch higher, where we don’t only get the privileges of leading ladies, but the privileges of a hero on set.”
Many female actors in Bollywood have complained about pay parity. However, Kangana shared that she is happy with the fees she’s being paid, and is proud to say that she is not underpaid.
Kangana quipped, “Don’t say this in front of the producers. In front of them, I act like ‘bechaari ladki’, otherwise they’ll ask me if others are getting so much.”
She added, “I am not underpaid. Today I can say proudly that thanks to people who make me feel that I am valued and my work is valued. There were times when I thought that even though I do the same work (as male co-stars), why don’t I get paid. But at this stage in my life, I am not underpaid.”

While Kangana Ranaut has no complaints about her paycheck, she shared that there have been times when a lot of people told Dhaakad director Razneesh Ghai to not cast her in the film.
She said, “So, thankfully, there are still people who don’t len to what’s being said. There are still those who believe in me. So, I’m grateful for that. And I couldn’t have hoped to have worked with a better person. He (Razneesh Ghai) pushed met to the limit. It was difficult to lose all that weight I had gained for Thalaivii now that I’m in my 30s. Plus I had Covid, so it became more difficult. But, he made sure I did it. I’ve done action before, but not like this, and he really pushed me.”
Dhaakad, also starring Arjun Rampal and Divya Dutta, is scheduled to release in theatres on May 20.