Actress-politician Kangana Ranaut is one of the few personalities who never shies away from speaking her heart out. When given a chance, she would voice her opinion on matters that concern politics or even make some shocking allegations against her fellow fraternity members in the film industry.
Recently, a contentious post by Congress leader Supriya Shrinate regarding the actress’ electoral debut has reignited a fresh wave of controversy. For those unversed, Ranaut is contesting the Lok Sabha elections 2024 as a Bharatiya Janata Party candidate from Mandi, her hometown in Himachal Pradesh.
However, this isn’t the first instance where the ‘Queen’ actress finds herself embroiled in political turmoil. In light of this, let’s explore seven of her most notorious scandals in recent years.
Urmila Matondkar: Soft Porn Star
In 2020, Ranaut called fellow actress-turned-politician Urmila Matondkar ‘a soft porn star’ during a TV interview. The actress was visibly upset when asked about her own political ambitions and quickly responded by counter-questioning that if Urmila Matondkar, who she claimed was only known for her ‘soft porn films’ could get an election ticket, then why couldn’t she. As for Matondkar, she ventured into politics as a Congress candidate in the 2019 Lok Sabha election from Mumbai North but lost. Later, in 2020, she left the party and joined Shiv Sena. Recently, she also defended her remark on Matondkar.
Remarks on Independence
The actress has been an avid supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In November 2021, during the Times Now Summit, the ‘Thalaivii’ actress stirred controversy with her views on India’s freedom. “The freedom we got in 1947 was a ‘bheek’ (pity), the citizens of India got real freedom in 2014,” her statement said. Notably, it was the same year when Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister for the first time. Many criticized her for disrespecting the sacrifices of freedom fighters with this one statement. BJP Member of Parliament Varun Gandhi was one of those who responded, questioning whether her comment should be seen as ‘madness or treason.’
Hate Propaganda in West Bengal
In May 2021, a complaint-turned-FIR was filed against the actress for allegedly spreading ‘hate propaganda’ and inciting communal violence in West Bengal through posts on her social media accounts. Apparently, she criticized the state’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the way she handled post-election violence in the state, accusing her of ‘unleashing Hindu genocide.’ She wrote, “Shame on everyone who supported this fascist Monster Mamta And shame on this government which can’t protect its supporters.” These comments resulted in her X account being suspended under community guidelines and it was restored two years later.
Karan Johar: Flag-Bearer of Nepotism
In February 2017, the actress graced the couch of ‘Koffee with Karan’ as a guest and talks between them shifted to the subject of how nepotism exists in the film industry. The actress directly stated that Karan Johar himself is the ‘flag bearer of nepotism,’ which caused a big controversy in the entire film fraternity. Ever since then, nepotism has been a hot topic and has led to discussions about the impact of family connections in the industry, and the challenges faced by outsiders trying to establish themselves in Bollywood.
Comparison of Mumbai with PoK
In 2020, the ‘Fashion’ actress made yet another bold statement that resulted in her receiving a legal notice. She said that Mumbai police ‘haunts her more than the mafias of Bollywood’ and went on to compare Mumbai to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). She tweeted, “Sanjay Raut Shiv Sena leader has given me an open threat and asked me not to come back to Mumbai, after Aazadi graffitis in Mumbai streets and now open threats, why Mumbai is feeling like Pakistan occupied Kashmir?” This caused political turbulence and also got former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray involved. Following this, a team from the municipality visited her production house without warning and issued her a notice for illegal construction, even conducting a demolition drive.
Anti-Farmer Protests Tweets: Feud With Rihanna
During the peak of the Farmers’ Protest in 2020-21, the actress made several controversial statements and even went as far as referring to farmers as ‘terrorists’ after Grammy-winning sensation Rihanna expressed support for the farmers’ protest in India. Following the singer’s tweet trending all across, Ranaut openly criticized her, while tweeting, “No one is talking about it because they are not farmers, they are terrorists trying to divide India so that China can take over our vulnerable broken nation and make it a Chinese colony much like the USA... Sit down, you fool, we are not selling our nation like you dummies.” Additionally, X removed some of her other posts related to the same issue.
Hrithik Roshan: Defamation Case
The spat between the ‘Tanu weds Manu’ actress and Hrithik Roshan stemmed from a dispute over their alleged past romantic involvement. The two stars allegedly had an affair while they worked together on ‘Krrish 3,’ with the actress claiming that they were in a relationship, with the other denying it. Soon after, it escalated into legal battles with the actor slamming Ranaut with defamation charges, with both parties making extreme accusations against each other. The feud was filled with allegations of stalking, harassment, claiming the other has mental health issues, and leaked emails, leading to investigations. Both of them have given multiple interviews to put forth their side of the story to various media channels in front of the public.
