Kangana Ranaut: The Truth About Brutal Frankness

I was visiting Utah over the Labor Day long weekend, enjoying my time at a peaceful Airbnb when my mom told me about Kangana Ranaut’s interview on Aap Ki Adalat. Living far away, she was my window into Indian entertainment and a source of cultural connection, especially at moments when I couldn't resonate with American entertainment. 

Here's the link if you haven't seen the video: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3wHgadR3Y8&t=2592s

I started to watch her interview with Rajat Sharma...and OH BOY, she was admirable beyond words. I was hooked for the next two hours as she revealed dirty truths about the Bollywood industry and nepotistic realities of dynasty film culture. 

Her honest account of her relationship with Hrithik Roshan was like naked truth - bare, powerful and open to judgement. It was courageous in the sense that she wasn't scared of being judged at all -- by the public, her family or Bollywood community. Which is a rare sight to watch, especially among Indian women -- because we are so conditioned to hide our true self to avoid bad judgements. We are moral mirrors of the society, avoiding anything that brings harm to our society. Over a period of time, the burden to maintain moral righteousness gets ingrained into every aspect of our lives. 

In my life, I see a reflection of it everyday when deciding what to wear in the morning. Without much though, I blindly choose "safe" options i.e. comfortable and non-revealing outfits -- partly because I don't think I have a body to pull off very hugging outfits. But even if my body was a perfect zero figure, I wouldn't want to take the risk of wearing something that made me feel conscious of being judged by other people. 

However, it's true that what we wear is a reflection of how we feel -- therefore, restricting our clothes have a way of restricting our thinking in more ways than perceptible. Our feelings remain inhibited and bottled up -- like in a prison, because we've been told what to wear, whom to talk to and how to think. Statements like "log kya sochenge", "ye hamara culture nahin hain", "achcha nahin lagta" etc. etc. permeates into our mentality to an extent that we are scared of being judged at all times, even when we sleep walk. 

The biggest roadblock hits us when we are not able to determine our potential, because of the constant state of caution and path of least resistance. Thinking about our deepest desires and needs pushes us out of our comfort zone, because we've been told it's our duty to put others' needs before ours -- in the form of respect for elders, family, society, community, etc. It is like second nature to us -- to select household chores over family business, or marriage over PhD (or do both but prioritize family first). 

Therefore, every interview of Kangana Ranaut is very important for every woman to WATCH, INTERNALIZE AND GULP DOWN. She is epitomizing what it takes to accept one's own truth, reality and potential in life. She knows her superior capabilities as a creative artist and does not feel scared to pursue them wholeheartedly -- collaborating on her films (unlike any other Hindi film heroin), writing her own scripts or directing her own movies, against an entire system that is desperate to put her down again and again. It's beyond inspiring! 

To determine your truth, ask yourself this everyday -- what is it that you really want to do in life? What are your values as an individual (and not family values)? And make sure you have some that are worth fighting for. What will it take to stand up to your values? What are you scared of? What's the worst that will happen? How will it change the way you think about yourself?

Let's make sure we stand up to ourself by learning a thing or two from Kangana Ranaut and women like her. Let our presence be felt wherever we go, by wearing whatever we want....even if it's body hugging or revealing. Because like our clothes, our individualistic opinions need to be set free too...