Kangna Amardeep Ranaut (born March 23, 1987) is an Indian actress and filmmaker best known for her work in Hindi cinema. She is known for her depictions of strong-willed, unorthodox women in female-led films, and she has received multiple prizes, including four National Film prizes and five Filmfare Awards, as well as appearing on Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list six times. The Government of India awarded her the Padma Shri, the country's fourth-highest civilian decoration, in 2020.
Ranaut began modelling at the age of sixteen before studying under theatrical director Arvind Gaur. She made her cinematic debut in the 2006 thriller Gangster, for which she earned the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut, and she has received recognition for her portrayal of emotionally strong characters in the dramas Woh Lamhe... Life in a..., 2006. Fashion (2008) and Metro (2007). She earned the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for the last of these. She starred in the commercially successful films Raaz: The Mystery Continues (2009) and Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai (2010), but she was chastised for being stereotypically put in neurotic parts. Tanu Weds Manu (2011)'s humorous part was well-received, but it was followed by a series of fleeting, flashy roles in films that did not drive her career ahead.
Ranaut's professional chances improved in 2013 when she starred as a mutant in Krrish 3, one of India's highest-grossing films. She went on to win two consecutive National Film Awards for Best Actress for her roles in the comedy-drama Queen (2014) and Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015), which was the highest-grossing female-led Hindi film at the time. This was followed by a string of commercial disappointments and a drop in stardom. Her single successful attempt during this time period was the biopic Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi (2019). Her performance as the titular warrior in it, as well as her role as a sportswoman in Panga (2020), garnered her a fourth National Film Award.
Ranaut founded her own production firm, Manikarnika Films, in 2020, where she works as a director and producer. She is known for being outspoken and has been dubbed one of the best-dressed celebs. Her beliefs, which correspond with right-wing ideologies, have created controversy, as have repeated confrontations in her personal and professional relationships.
Background and early life
Kangna Amardeep Ranaut was born on March 23, 1987, in Bhambla (now Surajpur), a tiny town in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district, into a Rajput family. Asha Ranaut, her mother, is a schoolteacher, while her father, Amardeep Ranaut, is a businessman. She has an older sister, Rangoli Chandel, who acts as her manager as of 2014, and a younger brother, Akshat. Her great-grandfather, Sarju Singh Ranaut, was a Legislative Assembly Member, and her grandfather was an Indian Administrative Service official. She was raised in a combined family at their ancestral haveli (mansion) in Bhambla, and she described her childhood as "simple and happy."
Ranaut describes herself as "stubborn and rebellious" as a child: "If my father would gift my brother a plastic gun and get a doll for me, I would not accept that. I questioned the discrimination." She did not conform to stereotypes and experimented with fashion from a young age, frequently pairing up accessories and clothes that would appear "bizarre" to her neighbours. Ranaut attended the DAV School in Chandigarh, where she majored in physics and was described as "very studious" and "always paranoid about results." On her parents' encouragement, she first planned to become a doctor. However, a failed chemistry unit test in her twelfth grade caused Ranaut to reevaluate her career options, and despite preparing for the All India Pre Medical Test, she did not appear for the exam. She moved to Delhi at the age of sixteen, determined to find her "space and freedom." Her decision not to pursue medicine resulted in a constant feud with her parents, and her father refused to finance a career he saw as pointless.
Ranaut was unclear about her professional path in Delhi when the Elite Modelling Agency saw her good looks and offered she model for them. She did a few modelling jobs but loathed the industry since there was "no room for creativity." Ranaut chose to change her career path and joined the Asmita Theatre Group, where she studied under theatre director Arvind Gaur. She took part in Gaur's drama workshop at the India Habitat Centre, where she performed in number of his pieces, including Girish Karnad's Taledanda. When one of the male players went missing during a performance, Ranaut played his part with her own character as a woman. A strong response from the audience motivated her to relocate to Mumbai to seek a career in film, and she enrolled in Asha Chandra's theatre school for a four-month acting study.
During this time, Ranaut suffered with her meagre earnings, consuming mainly "bread and aachar (pickle)". Her refusal to accept her father's financial assistance caused a schism in their relationship, which she later regretted. Her relatives were dissatisfied with her decision to work in the film industry, and they did not communicate with her for several years. She reunited with them following the publication of Life in a... In 2007, Metro was founded.
Career
From 2004 until 2008, he made his film debut and received critical acclaim.
Ranaut made her film debut in 2004 with the Deepak Shivdasani-directed I Love You Boss, according to producers Ramesh Sharma and Pahlaj Nilani. The following year, an agent brought her to the producer Mahesh Bhatt's office, where she met director Anurag Basu and auditioned for the main part in the romantic thriller Gangster: A Love Story. Bhatt believed she was too young for the role and instead cast Chitrangada Singh. However, Singh later became unavailable for the project, and Ranaut was hired as a replacement for Gangster, opting out of I Love You, Boss. She played Simran, an alcoholic lady caught in a romantic triangle with a notorious mobster (Shiney Ahuja) and a compassionate friend (Emraan Hashmi). Ranaut was only seventeen at the time of filming and admitted that she "had difficulty first understanding and then unwinding from the character," calling her craft "raw and immature." Gangster, which was released in 2006, was a critical and commercial triumph. According to Raja Sen of Rediff.com, "Kangana is a remarkable find, the actress coming across with great conviction." She received the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut, as well as several other debut accolades.
The following part for Ranaut was in the Mohit Suri-directed play Woh Lamhe... (2006), a semi-autobiographical film about schizophrenic actress Parveen Babi and her relationship with director Mahesh Bhatt. She stated that playing Babi had emotionally drained her because she had begun to "feel her desolation and loneliness." Film critic Subhash K. Jha of Sify stated that Ranaut is the first Hindi film actress since Smita Patil and Shabana Azmi "who isn't scared to strip her soul naked for the camera," adding that she is a "hugely expressive actress with a phenomenal ability to convey torment, hurt, and incredulity through the eyes." Despite favourable reviews, the picture performed poorly at the box office.
The next year, Ranaut co-starred with Bobby Deol, Upen Patel, and Celina Jaitly in Suneel Darshan's musical thriller Shakalaka Boom Boom as an aspiring musician. A disagreement between Ranaut and Darshan hampered the film's development; she objected to her voice being dubbed by another artist, while he insisted on a specific "twang and accent" for her character. The film was classified as a "amateur mess" by India Today, and it was a box office flop. She then collaborated with Anurag Basu on the ensemble play Life in a... Metro plays Neha, a savvy socialite who is having an affair with her married boss (Kay Kay Menon). Despite a slow start at the box office, the picture proved to be a lucrative endeavour. The film was panned by Khalid Mohamed of Hindustan Times, who noted its lack of innovation and reality. Raja Sen said in a more positive assessment that Ranaut "is refreshing and manages to herd her emotions well, playing a complex role but hardly ever overreaching," but critiqued her English line delivery. Ranaut received the Stardust Award for Breakthrough Performance - Female for her part.
Ranaut then starred as a country girl in Dhaam Dhoom (2008), a Tamil romantic thriller co-written by Jayam Ravi. When the director, Jeeva, died of heart arrest, production was momentarily suspended, and the picture was completed by the crew members. According to a Post evaluation, Ranaut had "little scope" in a character that did not suit her. Her next film, the drama Fashion (2008), was dubbed a "landmark" in her career by India Today. The film is set against the backdrop of the Indian fashion business and stars Ranaut as Shonali Gujral, a substance-abusing supermodel who is struggling to cope with her faltering career. Because the media claimed that her character was modelled on former model Geetanjali Nagpal (which Ranaut disputed), the Delhi Commission for Women ordered the film's release to be postponed, approving it only after a script narration. Fashion was a commercial triumph, with a worldwide income of 600 million (US$7.5 million). Ranaut's performance received universal appreciation. Ranaut's portrayal earned her several awards, including the National Film Award and Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama praised her confident portrayal of the character, and Nikhat Kazmi added that she "does an exquisite metamorphosis from a wispy, high-strung, nervous child-woman to a stunning ramp diva."
2009-2012: Career ups and downs
Ranaut's first cinematic release in 2009 was the supernatural horror thriller Raaz: The Mystery Continues, directed by Mohit Suri, in which she played a successful model who is possessed by a ghost. The film, which starred Emraan Hashmi and Adhyayan Suman, was a commercial success. According to Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express, Ranaut was getting stereotyped in parts that required her to be "hysterical," and she needed a "radical change of image." She also starred in the drama Vaada Raha and the Telugu action picture Ek Niranjan that year, neither of which received much attention.
Ranaut played the fiancée of Hrithik Roshan's character in Anurag Basu's romantic thriller Kites (2010). She said she felt duped after seeing the film because her role was much lower than what she had signed up for. She then played fictional film actress Rehana in the gangster picture Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, directed by Milan Luthria. The film, which also stars Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, and Prachi Desai, follows the rise and subsequent fall of an underworld don (Devgn) in the 1970s. Ranaut revealed that her character was "a mix" of Madhubala and the wife of mobster Haji Mastan, and that she studied the work of actresses Zeenat Aman and Parveen Babi to prepare. The picture was one of the year's most successful movies, receiving good reviews from reviewers. Ranaut had "never looked lovelier and more playful," according to India Today's Kaveree Bamzai, and Mid-Day's Sarita Tanwar thought her "totally convincing" in the role. After playing a television reporter in the thriller Knock Out (2010), Ranaut actively sought a comedic role and found it in Anees Bazmee's No Problem (2010), however neither film helped her career.
Ranaut wanted roles that would be "less emotionally exhausting" after establishing a reputation for frequently portraying neurotic characters. Tanu Weds Manu, a romantic comedy starring R. Balki, was her first release of 2011. Madhavan, whom she describes as a "game changer" for her. Tanuja "Tanu" Trivedi, a foul-mouthed, free-spirited, and rebellious Kanpur university student, enters an arranged marriage with Manu (Madhavan), a London-based Indian doctor. Rai noted that he cast her for the role to show that she was capable of portraying other roles and that her character in the film was unlike any that she had previously done. The film received mixed reviews from critics, while her acting was lauded. "Kangana Ranaut is a pleasant surprise in a cheery, upbeat part that we haven't seen her take on before," wrote Rajeev Masand, "and she rises to the challenge, only hampered occasionally by her mangled dialogue delivery." She was nominated for Best Actress at several award ceremonies, including Screen and Zed Cine.
Ranaut's triumph with Tanu Weds Manu was followed by a string of brief, flashy appearances in four other films in 2011: Game, Double Dhamaal, Rascals, and Miley Naa Miley Hum. With the exception of Double Dhamaal, none of these films did well at the box office. Gaurav Malani of The Times of India noted in a review for Rascals, "Kangana Ranaut is ill at ease in comedy. She struggles to hold her own and emerges as a bimbo in her act." Ranaut later admitted that she accepted some of these projects owing to a lack of film offers as well as financial gain. The following year, she played a supporting role alongside Ajay Devgn in Priyadarshan's box-office disaster Tezz.
From 2013 to 2015, she was a well-known actress.
Due of her ability to stand out in a primarily male-centric picture, director Sanjay Gupta put Ranaut in a brief role opposite John Abraham in the criminal thriller Shootout at Wadala (2013). Tushar Joshi of The Daily News and Analysis commented that her character was intended "to provide the sex quotient," and critic Vinayak Chakravorty said she "doesn't get much scope beyond the steamy lovemaking grind." The picture did relatively well commercially.
Ranaut rose to prominence in 2013 for her role as Kaya, a shapeshifting mutant in Rakesh Roshan's science fiction thriller Krrish 3, opposite Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, and Vivek Oberoi. She first denied the offer because to her dissatisfaction with her performance in Kites, which was produced by Rakesh Roshan. After several other actresses declined the part, Roshan approached Ranaut again and promised her a bigger role, which she eventually accepted. Though her performance was praised, critics said Krrish 3 was entertaining but lacked in innovation. According to Sarita Tanwar of Daily News and Analysis, "she is delightful as an alien making the weird hair and clothes work for her. She even manages to make you feel her pain. Quite an accomplishment!" It became one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films of all time, earning 3 billion (US$38 million) worldwide, becoming Ranaut's most financially profitable venture. She later starred as the title character in the critically and commercially failed musical drama Rajjo (2013). Her portrayal of a nautch girl was widely panned, with Rediff.com's Paloma Sharma writing that she "struggles with her Mumbaiyya dialogues and is not as graceful in the dance sequences as one would have expected."
Ranaut cemented her place as a star actress in Hindi film in 2014, when she appeared in the coming-of-age dramedy Queen, for which she also co-wrote the dialogues with Anvita Dutt Guptan. She portrayed Rani, a naive young woman who goes on her honeymoon alone when her fiancé (Rajkummar Rao) cancels their wedding. Ranaut, who sees herself as "independent and confident," said the role was one of the most difficult she'd ever portrayed because the character's personality attributes conflicted with her own. Critics praised the film and Ranaut's performance unanimously. The fact that she "flits from one aspect of her character to another without breaking stride" shows her maturity as an actor, according to Devesh Sharma of Filmfare; Sudhish Kamath of The Hindu wrote: "Ranaut as Rani, in a role of a lifetime, makes Queen an absolutely delightful journey. She wins us over first with innocence, small-town charm, vulnerability, spirit, strength, warmth, and her gradual confidence." Queen has gained cult status over the years and has been recognised by academics as an outstanding feminist picture.
Ranaut then went on to play an angry politician in the black comedy Revolver Rani and a medical intern in the political drama Ungli (both in 2014). Also that year, she made her production and directing debut with The Touch, an English language short film about a four-year-old child and his dog; she co-wrote the screenplay with an Australian writer and filmed it in America.
The next year, Ranaut starred in Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015), a sequel to Tanu Weds Manu in which she played both roles: Tanuja from the original and Datto, an ambitious Haryanvi athlete, who was freshly added. In preparation for the latter part, she engaged with University of Delhi students in disguise, as well as attending workshops to acquire the Haryanvi language and training in the sport of triple jump. The picture earned positive reviews from critics, and Ranaut's performance was regarded as its most valuable element. Sweta Kaushal of the Hindustan Times praised her for nailing the two women's body language and accents, and Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV said she "fleshes out this pair of distinct individuals with such energy and finesse that it becomes difficult at times to tell that it is the same actress playing the two roles." Tanu Weds Manu Returns grossed more than 2.4 billion rupees (US$30 million) globally, making it the highest-grossing Bollywood film with a female protagonist. Ranaut received a Filmfare Critics Award and a second consecutive National Film Award for Best Actress, as well as another Filmfare nomination for Best Actress.
Ranaut also acted in the romantic comedy I Love New Year (which had been postponed since 2013) and Nikkhil Advani's Katti Batti in 2015, both of which bombed at the box office. The latter saw her play a cancer patient opposite Imran Khan, a job that Mint writer Uday Bhatia said "lacked the sort of definition she's had in her last few roles."
Professional growth and commercial failures from 2017 until the present
Ranaut returned to the big screen after a year away, playing Julia, a 1940s heroine and stuntwoman modelled after Fearless Nadia in Vishal Bhardwaj's romantic drama Rangoon (2017). She performed the role as a "amalgamation of many characters" from the time period, and she was particularly drawn to its "fierceness and sensuality." She learned to ride a horse and fight with a sword, and she did her own stunts. According to media sources, Ranaut and Kapoor had a feud, which they denied, but both stars openly criticised the other. Rangoon earned mostly excellent reviews, with many praising Ranaut's portrayal. The Hindustan Times' Rohit Vats termed her "terrific," and NDTV named her one of the year's top actresses. She was nominated for a Filmfare Critics Award. Simran, Hansal Mehta's crime comedy from the same year, cast her as a Gujarati immigrant in the United States who commits a series of bank robberies to pay off her debts. She studied Gujarati for the role in order to improve her diction. For improvising some sentences on set, she shared screenplay credit with Apurva Asrani, however Asrani accused Ranaut and Mehta of undervaluing his contributions to the script. Her work in Simran was acclaimed. Rangoon and Simran both bombed at the box office.
Ranaut received her fourth Best Actress Award at the 67th National Film Awards for Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi (2019) and Panga (2020). She also co-directed the former, a biography of Indian freedom hero Rani of Jhansi, after Krish departed the project after regularly disagreeing with Ranaut. Sonu Sood, her co-star, also left the production owing to conflicts with her. Ranaut later reshot a substantial chunk of the film, causing the production cost to double. The film debuted to moderate mainstream success and mainly positive reviews, with the focus being on Ranaut's commanding presence as the titular heroine. The film was described by Rajeev Masand as "a deliberately simplistic film; an old-fashioned patriotic saga told in the broadest of strokes, and with full nationalist fervour," but he praised Ranaut's "extraordinary performance," noting how she "commands the screen with a fiery, arresting presence, never letting your attention wander away from her."
Ranaut reunited with Rajkummar Rao in Prakash Kovelamudi's grim comedy Judgementall Hai Kya, her second film release of 2019. She portrayed an eccentric, mentally ill woman who attempts to expose a man (Rao) whom she suspects of murdering his wife. Shubhra Gupta thought she was "terrific" in the role and saw "connections between what's happening on screen and Ranaut's off-screen seemingly off-kilter joustings that routinely make so much news of the wrong kind." It underperformed at the box office, which Ranaut attributed to the high production costs caused by her salary. Sukanya Verma praised Ranaut's portrayal in the film as "decidedly more complicated and twisted" than her "riveting" turn in Manikarnika. Ranaut was nominated for two Filmfare Awards for her performances in both films.
Panga, a sports drama directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, was Ranaut's first film of the new decade. She played Jaya Nigam, a former kabaddi world champion who is urged to return to the sport by her husband. She trained every day for five months and ate a rigorous, healthy diet in order to be ready for the role. Anupama Chopra of Film Companion praised her performance's sensitivity, and Rachel Saltz of The New York Times said, "Ranaut makes Jaya credible and specific; she's not an every woman, every mom, or every athlete. She's this one, Jaya, and Ranaut makes you care about what kind of place she can find for herself in the world."
Ranaut started her production firm, Manikarnika Films, in 2020, and the following year starred in the biopic Thalaivii (2021), in which she and Arvind Swamy portrayed actor-turned-politicians J. M. Jayalalithaa and Jayalalithaa M. G. Ramachandran, and so on. Ranaut gained 20 kg (44 lb) for the role. Critics gave the film mixed reviews, with most praising her performance. Baradwaj Rangan praised her decision to convey "the lack of power, the frustrations, the disappointments, and the fact of what it meant to be a woman in politics back then," concluding that she "puts all of this across beautifully"; in contrast, Srivatsan S. According to The Hindu, she was miscast in the role, and Swamy's role is longer than Ranaut's. She won a SIIMA Award for Best Actress - Tamil for her performance. She was nominated for a Filmfare Award for the role, but she was outraged, accusing Filmfare of being corrupt and unethical in their awarding system and threatening to sue if her name was not withdrawn; her nomination was revoked for what the association called "false accusations."
Ranaut hosted the reality show Lock Upp in 2022, which was widely watched on ALTBalaji and MX Player. In the action flick Dhaakad, she played a spy. It was her eighth box-office flop in her previous nine films, with sites like Bollywood Hungama and Box Office India expressing concern about her declining popularity.
Ranaut will next appear in Sarvesh Mewara's Tejas as an Indian Air Force pilot, as Indira Gandhi in her second directorial effort, Emergency, on the 1977 Indian Emergency, and in a sequel to the 2005 Tamil film Chandramukhi. She will also produce Tiku Weds Sheru, a black comedy starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Avneet Kaur.
Private life
Ranaut has admitted that her early years in the film industry were difficult because she was unprepared to be an actress. She struggled to "fit in" since she was aware of her weak mastery of the English language. She recalled in a 2013 interview with Daily News and Analysis:
"People in the industry treated me as if I didn't deserve to be spoken to and that I was some unwanted object. I couldn't speak English fluently and people made fun of me for that, so dealing with rejection became a part of life.... All of that has taken a toll, I guess. I find it difficult to deal with praise. Today, when people say that I made it and made it on my own, I feel like locking myself up somewhere... It scares me."
During her ordeal, Ranaut found solace in the actor Aditya Pancholi and his wife Zarina Wahab, whom she referred to as her "family away from home." When the media speculated about the nature of her relationship with Pancholi, she became embroiled in a well documented scandal. Despite making multiple public appearances with him, she refused to discuss it openly. Ranaut was alleged to have made a police complaint against Pancholi in 2007 for physically abusing her while under the influence of alcohol. In an interview the following year, Pancholi admitted the affair, claiming that he had previously cohabited with Ranaut and accusing her of owing him $2.5 million (US$31,000). Ranaut's spokeswoman responded, saying that "after physically assaulting her in the middle of a road, he has no right to expect anything from her," and that she had "already given 5 million (US$63,000) to as a goodwill gesture." Ranaut later stated that the incident had "physically and mentally" affected her.
Ranaut established a love relationship with co-star Adhyayan Suman while filming Raaz: The Mystery Continues in 2008. The couple divorced the next year due to Suman's insistence that he focus on his professional career. She was in a long-distance relationship with Nicholas Lafferty, an English doctor, from 2010 to 2012; she characterised the relationship as "the most normal" she had ever had, but the couple broke amicably because she was not ready for marriage. She has since stated that she will never marry and that she does not want to be shackled by a relationship. Hrithik Roshan, her Krrish 3 co-star, filed a case against Ranaut in 2016, accusing her of online stalking and harassment. Denying the allegations, Ranaut filed a counter-charge against Roshan, stating that his case was an attempt to conceal their affair for the sake of his divorce procedures. Due to a lack of evidence, the case was closed later that year.
Ranaut lives in Mumbai with her sister Rangoli, who was attacked with acid in 2006. She returns to her hometown of Bhambla on an annual basis. Ranaut, a practising Hindu, adheres to the teachings of spiritual leader Swami Vivekananda and regards meditation as "the highest form of worshipping God." She is a vegetarian and was named "India's hottest vegetarian" in a PETA survey conducted in 2013. She has been learning Kathak dancing at the Nateshwar Nritya Kala Mandir since 2009. She has stated that the technical process of filmmaking is of great interest to her, and in 2014, Ranaut enrolled in a two-month script writing course at the New York Film Academy to better comprehend it. In an interview with Filmfare, she stated that she wants to live a normal life despite her celebrity: "I don't want to lose my rights as a common person to learn and grow."
Artistry and public perception
Tisca Chopra defines Ranaut as a "free-spirited, original creative" person "who cannot really be slotted into a particular mould" in her book Acting Smart: Your Ticket to Showbiz. Ranaut is well-known for her candour in expressing her views in public on topics ranging from film to feminism. A televised 2013 interview hosted by Anupama Chopra in which Ranaut spoke out against gender bias and nepotism in Bollywood went viral online, prompting Sunaina Kumar of Tehelka to write: "In this age of cookie-cutter heroines with stock responses, Kangana Ranaut is refreshingly real and honest." She was described by Kaveree Bamzai as "a permanent outsider who can play the game better tha Ranaut had a public spat with filmmaker Karan Johar in 2017 after accusing him of nepotism during a chat show appearance. She has since continued to speak out against nepotism in the film industry, particularly after the death of Sushant Singh Rajput, accusing powerful film professionals of "systematically sabotaging" his career.
Ranaut believes in right-wing beliefs and backs the Bharatiya Janata Party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She is a frequent contributor on social media, where she displays her political opinions, discusses her religious membership and activities, and criticises liberals as well as the Hindi cinema business. Her forthright demeanour and combative demeanour, as seen by several well-publicized public conflicts with colleagues over her opinions, have drawn some media criticism. Twitter permanently terminated her account in May 2021 for many violations of the company's abusive behaviour and hateful behaviour policy. When the ban was removed in January 2023, she returned to the platform.
In 2014, journalist Parmita Uniyal noted that Ranaut "loves to challenge herself with tricky roles and manages to add a different dimension to her character every time." In 2013, a Rediff.com reviewer described her as a "director's actress" who can "shine and crumble under the right/wrong guidance." Ranaut actively seeks roles in which she can "work in her own space and not become a mere prop in the male-dominated Bollywood," according to Anand L. Rai, and Milan Luthria (director of Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai) calls her a chameleon for her transformative acting ability. Ranaut has been credited for initiating a movement that violates stereotypes of a Hindi film heroine by portraying the protagonist in films that do not include a well-known male star, with actress Vidya Balan. Ranaut's unusual choices of roles and films, according to Namrata Joshi, set her apart from her contemporaries. According to Shailaja Bajpai of BBC News, Ranaut is a "outstanding performer" and a natural actor who has played "strong, unusual women" that have helped her carve a "special niche for herself." Anupama Chopra called her "arguably the finest actress working in Hindi cinema today" after Rangoon. Rajeev Masand named her one of Hindi cinema's greatest actresses in 2023.
Following the success of Queen and Tanu Weds Manu Returns, Deccan Chronicle dubbed Ranaut "one of the most bankable actresses in the industry," and Daily News and Analysis said that she had become one of Bollywood's highest-paid actresses. Forbes India included her in their annual Celebrity 100 list in 2012, 2014-2017, and 2019. Forbes estimated her annual compensation to be 320 million (US$4.0 million) in 2017, making her one of the highest-paid actresses in the country. She was named one of the most powerful Indians by The Indian Express from 2017 to 2019, and again in 2022.
Ranaut has been dubbed a sex symbol and a fashion icon in India. Her off-screen persona was initially written off by Indian journalists due to her "funny accent" and the negative publicity generated by her troubled relationships, according to Hindustan Times; however, her defining fashion choices and unconventional film roles eventually established her as a star. She has repeatedly appeared on lists of India's most attractive and trendy celebrities. She was named a "Most Desirable Woman" by The Times of India in 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2015. Ranaut appeared on Verve's list of the most powerful women in 2010, and the Indian version of People named her the "Best Dressed Personality" in 2012. Vogue India named her one of the best-dressed women celebrities of 2013. According to journalist Jagmeeta Thind Joy, the actress has a "quirky, almost non-Bollywood take on personal style," and she "likes to shock and awe with her choices." In 2015 and 2016, she teamed with the design label Vero Moda to launch two apparel lines for the firm, Marquee and Venice Cruise.
Filmography and honours
Ranaut has received four National Film Awards: one for Best Supporting Actress for Fashion (2008), two for Queen (2014) and Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015), and a third for her performances in both Manikarnika, Queen of Jhansi (2019) and Panga (2020). She has also received five Filmfare Awards, including Best Female Debut and a special award ("Face of the Year") for her performance in Gangster (2006), Best Supporting Actress for Fashion, Best Actress for Queen, and Best Actress - Critics for Tanu Weds Manu Returns. The Government of India awarded her the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award, in 2020 for her service to the arts.
| Bio/Wiki | |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Kangana Amardeep Ranaut |
| Nickname(s) | Arshad, OTA (One Take Actor) |
| Profession(s) | Actress, Writer, Director |
| Physical Stats & More | |
| Height (approx.) | in centimeters- 168 cm in meters- 1.68 m in feet inches- 5’ 6” |
| Weight (approx.) | in kilograms- 55 kg in pounds- 121 lbs |
| Figure Measurements (approx.) | 34-26-34 |
| Eye Colour | Dark Brown |
| Hair Colour | Black |
| Career | |
| Debut | Bollywood Film (Actress): Gangster (2006) Tamil Film (Actress): Dhaam Dhoom (2008) Telugu Film (Actress): Ek Niranjan (2009) Writer: Queen (2014) Director: Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi (2019) |
| Awards, Achievements | National Film Awards 2009: Best Supporting Actress for the film 'Fashion' (2008) 2015: Best Actress for the film 'Queen' (2014) 2016: Best Actress for the film 'Tanu Weds Manu Returns' (2015) 2019: Best Actress for two of her films 'Panga' and 'Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi' Filmfare Awards 2007: Best Female Debut for the film 'Gangster' (2006) 2009: Best Supporting Actress for the film 'Fashion' (2008) 2015: Best Actress for the film 'Queen' (2014) 2016: Best Actress (Critics) for the film 'Tanu Weds Manu Returns' (2015) State Awards 2020: Padma Shri Note: Along with these, she has many other awards, honours, achievements to her name |
| Personal Life | |
| Date of Birth | 23 March 1986 (Sunday) |
| Age (as of 2023) | 37 Years |
| Birthplace | Bhambla, Himachal Pradesh, India |
| Zodiac sign | Aries |
| Signature/Autograph |  |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Hometown | Bhambla, Himachal Pradesh, India |
| School | DAV Model School, Sector 15, Chandigarh |
| College/University | N/A |
| Educational Qualification | 12th standard |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Caste | Kshatriya (Rajput) |
| Food Habit | Non-Vegetarian |
| Political Inclination | Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) |
| Address | A 4-BHK apartment in Khar, Mumbai |
| Hobbies | Cooking, Reading, Writing, Doing Yoga, Listening to Music |
| Tattoo(s) | Nape of the Neck- A sword and wings with a crown Left Ankle- A warrior angel |
| Relationships & More | |
| Marital Status | Unmarried |
| Family | |
| Husband/Spouse | N/A |
| Parents | Father- Amardeep Ranaut (Businessman) Mother- Asha Ranaut (Teacher) |
| Siblings | Brother- Akshit Ranaut Sister- Rangoli Ranaut (Elder, Manager) |
| Favourites | |
| Food(s) | Berry Burst, Dal-Chawal |
| Beverage(s) | Coffee, Red Wine |
| Cuisine | Italian |
| Actor(s) | Guru Dutt |
| Actresses | Sridevi, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn |
| Film(s) | Children of Heaven (1997), Moonlight (2016), La La Land (2016), Mughal-e-Azam (1960), Pyaasa (1957), Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983), Blazing Saddles (1974) |
| Filmmaker(s) | Christopher Nolan, K. Asif, Guru Dutt |
| Colour | Black |
| Book | Mahatma Gandhi Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments With Truth by Mahatma Gandhi |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Perfume | Chanel No. 5 |
| Restaurant | KongPoush in Mumbai |
| Hotel(s) | Soho Grand Hotel in New York, Le Meurice in Paris, Four Seasons in Maldives, Courthouse in London |
| Destination(s) | Paris, Milan, London, New York |
| Style Quotient | |
| Car Collection | • Mercedes GLE • Audi Q3 • BMW 7 Series • Mercedes Maybach S-Class |
| Assets/Properties | • A 67,000 per sq. ft bungalow in Pali Hill, Bandra, Mumbai (worth ₹20.7 crore, as in 2018) • A 8-BHK bungalow in Manali, Himachal Pradesh |
| Money Factor | |
| Salary (approx.) | Rs. 14 crore/film (as in 2019) |
| Net Worth (approx.) | $10 million (as in 2017) |
This is Kangana’s studio in Pali Hill prime location in Mumbai; she saw this dream 10 years ago and today we also saw it, if people can achieve anything with honesty and truth why do people do choti moti bundlebazi and act so dishonest.”
,-Biography,-Wiki,-Age,-Boyfriend-&-More-134.jpg "Surabhi-Samriddhi Mehra (Chinky Minky), Biography, Wiki, Age, Boyfriend & More")
