Kangana Ranaut is a name that has created a standalone identity in the well-established Hindi film industry. Apart from the drop-dead gorgeous looks of the diva, she has in her kitty a powerful bank of blockbuster films and a sharp voice of her own, which often lands her into the realms of troubles and controversies. However, Kangana’s journey to the top of the ladder has not been a bed of roses. Well, take a look at her inspirational journey so far from a complete outsider to a top-notch diva.
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Kangana was born into a humble, intellectual Rajput family that belonged to the small town of Bhamla in the Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh. Obviously, her family background had no trace of a distant connection to the showbiz world. While her father is a businessperson, her mother is a retired school teacher. She also has two siblings: Akshat and her sister, Rangoli. From a very young age, Kangana was given strict education and was inspired by her parents to take up the profession of a doctor in future. However, her life changed when she was 16 years old and decided to walk away from her parent’s house and move to Delhi to chart her career path.
In many interviews, Kangana has often recalled her younger self to be stubborn and rebellious, a part of which was reflected in her decision to move away from her home in Himachal Pradesh and land in an unknown world in Delhi. However, while unsure of her future, she gave herself an open chance and fair options to choose from. During this experimental phase, she joined Elite Modelling Agency, which gave her proper training to carry out a few modelling assignments, courtesy of her good looks. However, soon enough, she realised that modelling was not precisely her goal and that she would prefer acting. After that, she joined the Asmita Theatre Group and took training under eminent theatre director, Arvind Gaur.
After gaining a lot of learning and exposure through theatre, Kangana decided to shift base to Mumbai to pursue a career in mainstream film acting. So, she again took a four-month course in Asha Chandra’s drama school. And that was when luck favoured at her. Through a casting agent, she landed at the eminent director, Anurag Basu’s office and auditioned for the latter’s upcoming romantic thriller, Gangster. However, initially, Anurag found Kangana at the mere age of 19, too young to do such a role and signed up actress, Chitrangada Singh for the same. Fortunately, while Chitrangada opted out at the last minute, Kangana was roped in as the leading actress. And the rest is history, as Gangster became one of the most loved films to date.
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Truly, Kangana’s grand debut set the stepping stone to a great career for her. Kangana's performance in her debut film fetched her a lot of critical acclaim and appreciation, which made her a part of some of the most iconic films of her career. Films like Wo Lamhe, Shakalaka Boom Boom, Life In A…Metro, and Fashion gradually filled up her professional career with heaps of fame, love and appreciation from millions of fans worldwide. Thereby, she also became a special notice in the eyes of many eminent filmmakers.
As a young girl who was completely unaware of the functioning of the glamour world, Kangana had taken a long time to adjust to its workings and, unfortunately, also witnessed the sickening underbelly of the same. However, while her decision to step into the glamour world was without the support of her family, it was the house of Bollywood actor, Aditya Pancholi and his wife, Zarina Wahab, where she found a home away from home. The couple seemed to understand her difficulties in an alien land and supported her by all means during her struggling period.
However, things turned ugly when it was reported that Aditya Pancholi and Kangana Ranaut had been involved in a secret affair while the former was married to his wife, Zarina. However, while this was just a piece of the false rumour, the truth came out from Kangana herself when she revealed how Aditya had tried to sexually assault her on many occasions, due to which Kangana had to move out of their place. Moreover, she also related how Aditya would not stop to follow her and even banged on the doors of her hotel to demand satisfaction. After this, Kangana had to file a complaint to the police against Aditya for harassing her physically and mentally.
After such a horrific experience, Kangana swore off any relationship. Instead, she decided to focus only on her budding career when in 2009, she was cast in Mahesh Bhatt’s supernatural horror film, Raaz: The Mystery Continues. While the film received a mixed response from the audience, it also led her into a romantic relationship with her co-star, Adhyayan Suman. However, their affair was short-lived, and within a year, the couple separated to focus on their careers.
After her split from Adhyayan, it was reported that Kangana dated an English doctor, Nicholas Lafferty, and the duo maintained a long-distance relationship from 2010 to 2012. However, Kangana again broke up with him as she was not ready for commitment or marriage.
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It seems that Kangana’s personal life has created a lot of controversies rather than her professional achievements. After her breakup with the English doctor, Kangana was speculated to be dating Bollywood superstar, Hrithik Roshan. The duo had worked closely in the film, Kites, and it was reported that their love blossomed on the film's sets. Moreover, there were reports that Hrithik was also considering divorcing his then-wife, Sussane Khan, and marrying Kangana. Post Kites, the duo again came together for the film, Krrish 3 and were often spotted together, which raised many eyebrows about their relationship.
However, in 2016, things took an upsetting turn when Hrithik Roshan filed a lawsuit against Kangana for allegedly cyberstalking and harassing him. Hrithik further rubbished all reports claiming him to be romantically involved with Kangana. On the other hand, Kangana responded with a counter-charge against Hrithik and claimed that the actor had used and rejected her. She also claimed that his lawsuit was a meek attempt at covering up his extra-marital affair with her at the brink of his slowly failing marriage. This ugly matter became the headlines in no time, and the duo repeatedly attacked one another on social media and even took direct digs at each other in many instances. The law case filed, however, was closed due to a lack of evidence.
As witnessed often, Kangana always makes her way to the helms of controversies. However, there was once a hugely controversial case that faced a lot of backlash from the who’s who of Bollywood. In an interview with Anupama Chopra in 2013, Kangana was spotted quite openly bashing many A-listed filmmakers and producers of Bollywood for following nepotism and making the acting career of star kids smooth enough and without a struggle to reach the pinnacle of success easily. After that, she also had a public fallout with filmmaker, Karan Johar in 2017 for supporting nepotism in most of his films, leading to an unequal footing for actors like herself, who do not come from film families.
While such statements had certainly unsettled many people in Bollywood, it turned worse when in 2020, Kangana openly reacted to the unnatural death of popular film actor, Late Sushant Singh Rajput and revealed the mafia culture of Bollywood favouring nepotism had sabotaged the career of the late actor. This marked the final blow to her career, as her accusations made her a part of the black-listed actors in Bollywood, who started giving her fewer opportunities at work. As a befitting response to such backlashes, Kangana created her own film production company, Manikarnika Films.
Coming to another important aspect of the actress, Kangana is a power woman who owns quite a few expensive things courtesy of her blockbuster films and fame. To begin with, Kangana’s biggest possession is a lavish eight-bedroom bungalow in Manali worth Rs. 30 crores. Spread across an area of 7600 square feet, the bungalow consists of an in-house conservatory, gymnasium, a private office and many other personalised amenities to suit the actress.
Apart from her house in Manali, Kangana often resides in her lavishly spaced apartment in Mumbai’s Pali Hill worth Rs. 20 crores. Her five-bedroom apartment is a sea-facing unit spread across a space of 3075 square feet in a multi-storeyed society.
The third most important setup of Kangana is her production house office in Pali Hill, Mumbai, worth Rs. 48 crores. The office is reportedly custom designed by interior designer, Shabnam Gupta according to the particular tastes of the actress.
Apart from these, Kangana also owns quite a few luxurious cars, including the Mercedes BMW 7 Series worth Rs. 1.35 crore and the Mercedes Benz GLE SUV worth Rs. 75 lakhs. The actress also has a fetish for handbags and shoes, coming from some of the most expensive brands like Louis Vuitton, Hermes Birkin, Dior, Prada and more.
Kangana is synonymously referred to as the queen by her fans. However, this name suits too right for the actress who believes in living her life queen-sized. The Padmashri recipient, Kangana, reportedly has a total net worth of 13 billion, which amounts to Rs. 103 crores. Moreover, she reportedly charges Rs. 2-3 crores for each brand endorsement and her remuneration for a film can exceed from Rs. 3 crores or more.
What do you think about Kangana Ranaut’s queen-sized life? Let us know!
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