Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut has reacted to claims that she slammed a video of a little girl mimicking a moment from Alia Bhatt's Gangubai Kathiawadi in order to ruin the film's commercial chances. She termed it a ‘petty thought’ and wondered whether her voice had to be muffled merely because it would hurt a movie's box office take.
Ranaut took to Instagram Stories earlier this week to express her displeasure over a video of a little girl copying Bhatt in 'Gangubai Kathiawadi,' “Should this child imitate a sex worker with a beedi in her mouth and crude and obscene dialogues? Look at her body language, is it ok to sexualize her at this age? There are hundreds of other children who are being used similarly.”
At the trailer launch of 'Lock Upp' in Delhi, Ranaut said, “Jo 6-7 saal ke bachche hai, woh kisi tarah se exploit ho rahe hai, jab main unki baat kar rahi hoon (When I am talking about 6 or 7-year-olds being exploited), I don’t think it is to harm anybody in terms of business or the money that they are going to make. Shouldn’t there be a conscience keeper of society? Shouldn’t artists also have an opposing view?”
According to Ranaut, the opposition is important not only in politics but also in other sectors, “If there is no opposition, then what is there? The person will only have their way. I am not an authority, I am not going to jail them or anything. I am giving my opinion that this looks wrong to me. Do you think that just because it is not in their interest of making money, my voice should be shut? Do you think it should be like that? It is in the interest of the girl children who are being exploited to imitate TikTok videos and imitate a sex worker with a beedi in her mouth. So, you think that just because it doesn’t serve somebody’s purpose economically, my voice should be shut? Nobody’s voice should be shut,” she said.
Social media is not only a place for ‘filters’ and ‘fancy clothes’, Ranaut said, “It should be a place where people can give opposing views. I am not saying that I am right or they are wrong. But I am saying that I should have the freedom to say… In the creative field, there is absolute intolerance for any opposing views. That shouldn’t happen.”
“Tomorrow, when I am going to make my first solo directorial - Manikarnika was in collaboration, I would want people to say what they feel. I will be very much open to this. I don’t have to address every opposing view or shut everybody’s view. But to say, ‘This person is saying this because I should not be able to sell tickets or this person must be wanting to cause harm to the financial earnings of my film’, what kind of petty thought is that? It’s a petty thought. If you have the freedom to make the film that you want to make, don’t I have the freedom to perceive it the way I see it? Do you want to doctor my perception also? Don’t be so controlling,” she added.
Directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, 'Gangubai Kathiawadi' features Alia Bhatt in the titular role of a woman who was trafficked into a brothel and eventually made connections with the underworld to become a formidable force. It is set to hit the theatres on February 25.
