The 'Queen' of controversy: Why Bollywood loves to hate Kangana Ranaut

You may love her or you may hate her but Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut will not be ignored. Of late she’s had a string of public fights with A-listers, politicians and possible work peers. But this is just the latest in a long line of explosive statements made by the ‘Queen’ actor. Here’s a look at some recent rows and others from a long time ago.

Fight with political leaders: In just the last week Ranaut compared the state government of Maharastra to Taliban and followed that up by saying Mumbai felt like ‘Pakistan-controlled Kashmir’. This led to a political maelstrom involving chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, who is also the leader of the Hindu nationalist Shiv Sena party. In what the government insists is an unrelated incident (Ranaut claims it is payback), a municipal crew tore down an office on the site of her Mumbai residence on the grounds of illegal construction.

The revolt. She didn’t take it lying down. The firebrand actress has retaliated by vowing to “expose” Thackeray and top film director Karan Johar, whom she has accused of collusion. The case has escalated quickly: police provided 24-hour security to Ranaut, and the Mumbai High Court ordered a stay on the demolition. Ranaut has said she doesn’t have the money to repair the building. She will work among the ruins “as a symbol of a woman’s will that dared to rise in this world”.

99% of Bollywood consumes drugs. While she made the substance abuse statements when the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) began to look into the drugs angle in the case of the late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, she took it a step further by volunteering names and explaining that once she herself had been part of this elite group. Ranaut also called out actors such as Ranbir Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Vicky Kaushal and filmmaker Ayan Mukerji, asking them to volunteer for a “dope test”.

Questioning the talent. In an interview, Ranaut called Taapsee Pannu and Swara Bhasker B-grade actresses. The replies came swift. ‘Thappad’ actress Pannu took the high ground, saying she is battling for a “better system to co-exist”.

In the same Q-n-A, Ranaut said both actresses are constantly trying to cosy up to the big-wigs. She said they are better looking and better actresses than Alia Bhatt and Ananya Pandey – both star kids. And said nepotism is the reason they wouldn’t get juicer roles.

Another actress gets a verbal lashing. Ranaut took a dig at Sonam Kapoor, daughter of star Anil Kapoor, calling her part of the 'Mafia Bimbos'. This was a remark aimed at Kapoor after the actress spoke up against the demolition of Ranaut’s Mumbai home. Ranaut, sharing a news story about Kapoor’s comment, wrote on Twitter, “All of sudden mafia bimbos have started to seek justice for Rhea ji through my house tragedy, my fight is for people don’t compare my struggles to a small time druggie who was living off a vulnerable and broken, self made super star, stop this right away.”

Ranaut accused actor Aditya Pancholi of physically assaulting her and keeping her under house arrest when they were allegedly in a relationship. “It was a very difficult and very harsh time. I was physically abused. This man who was my father’s age hit me hard on my head when I was 17,” she reportedly said at a press conference, revealing later at a talk show that she was talking about Pancholi. She also filed a police complaint against him.

It’s an old issue with Ranaut – nepotism. And one that resurfaced after the death of Rajput by suicide on June 14. The first time around, Ranaut brought up nepotism during an interview with Karan Johar on his talk show ‘Koffee with Karan’ back in 2017. She dubbed host Karan Johar the flag-bearer of nepotism. The actress said during the episode, “In my biopic, if ever it’s made, you’ll play that stereotypical Bollywood biggie, who is like you know…very snooty and completely intolerant towards outsiders, flag bearer of nepotism, the movie mafia.”

Bad date. Her spat with actor Hrithik Roshan, which involved multiple allegations and a legal battle, became a huge subject of discussion in the film industry and media. They were rumored to be dating while shooting for "Krrish 3" (2013). While Ranaut claimed they were romantically involved, Roshan repeatedly denied being in a relationship. Things took an ugly twist after both filed lawsuits against each other.

Another bad break-up. Her break-up with “Raaz: The Mystery Continues” (2009) co-star Adhyayan Suman came into limelight after Suman and his family reportedly accused her of performing black magic on him. He further said, “I was emotionally badgered because of my relationship. Kangana only knows how to use, abuse and throw. I have remained silent on her abusive nature for so many years, but she is crossing all limits now. Since I haven’t been taking her calls, her aides have been calling my mother and harassing her.”

Taking undue credit? During the release of her 2017 movie “Simran,” she was accused by the film’s writer Apurva Asrani of stealing writing credits. Ranaut had reportedly said that she and the film’s director Hansal Mehta developed the story from scratch, and she was also credited as ‘additional dialogue and story writer,’ which didn’t go down well with Asrani. A similar situation cropped up when Ranaut claimed she had directed 70 per cent of the movie 'Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi'; director Krish was not impressed.