Diva Spotlight: Kangana Ranaut

'Tanu Weds Manu' - 2011

If 2010 was the year of Sonakshi's "Tappar se dar nahin lagta saab", then this year's catchiest line so far has got to be "Oye hoye pappi jee" in 'Tanu Weds Manu' - spoken by the utterly talented diva Kangana Ranaut.

Check it out for yourself here:

Kangana as Simran in 'Gangster' - 2006

Kangana's career has come leaps and bounds ever since her startling debut in 2006 with the critically acclaimed hits 'Gangster' and 'Woh Lamhe'. The 19 year old debutant wowed audiences and had top filmakers wanting her to sign on the dotted line for their ventures. But the diva chose to be selective.

Born in 1987 in North India she arrived in Mumbai in 2004 at only 17 to pursue a career in showbiz. She caught the eye of Anurag Basu in a cafe and the rest is history. Her star quality shone through in her first film and later swept all the Best Newcomer trophies at the next award season. She followed this up in 2007 with the another great performance in Basu's 'Life In A Metro' - also starring Konkona Sen and Shilpa Shetty. The movie which I saw very recently was very impressive. Her role was minor but she did her part well and stood out in the ensemble-cast. Not only was the film a hit, but it was applauded by critics alike, and further yet it bagged Kangana another award: Stardust Breakthough Performance'.

Kangana as Neha in 'Life In A Metro' - 2007

The first time I really noticed her was when I went to the cinema with my sister to watch 'Shakalaka Boom Boom'. The film was a disaster and had me so close to walking out of the hall. The only good thing I remember was the new girl in the movie: Ms. Ranaut. She made her mark in a horrendously bad film - I knew then that this chick had something special. By early 2008 she had done an 'obligatory' South Indian film 'Dhaam Dhoom'.

Kangana as Shonali in 'Fashion' - 2008

While her contemporaries were wearing bikini's and doing multi-starrers aka appearing as wall-paper in hero-oriented films; Kangana decided to do something different. In October of the same year the Madhur Bhandarkar directed 'Fashion' was released without huge expectations. The film was a huge hit. The soundtrack created a storm and Kangana's performance landed her not only all the popular Best Supporting Actress awards (i.e. Filmfare, IIFA, Zee Cine), but she also won the coveted National Award. Her success and career were simply unprecedented. She had come out of nowhere. Improved with every year and every film and was awarded so many accolades, yet she was still only 21.

It might've been the hype around this girl at the time or not, but her next release became the biggest hit of the year so far in 2009: 'Raaz 2'. Her next release 'Vaada Raha' opposite Bobby Deol was a low-key affair and sunk without a trace, but not to worry as she was sure to fire right back.

Kangana as Rehana - 2010

In 2010 Kangana had some big projects in hand. Some worked, some didn't. 'Kites' had a lot riding on it. But it crashed at the box office. In actual fact, it was one of the top grossing films of the year, but it didn't make as much as was expected hence the 'flop' tag. Now this is my least favourite Kangana role. Something just didn't work for me. I feel her character just wasn't well thought out. In other words she was wasted. 'Knock Out' - a remake of 'Phone Booth' didn't work either. Neither did 'No Problem' although I loved her role in the film and she looked amazing. It was nice to see her dance and have fun. And the chemistry with Sushmita Sen looked superb on screen. The two divas even became friends.

Her saviour of the year came in the form of 'Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai'. Set to the backdrop of the 1970's she played the role of Rehaana - a moviestar in love with a gangster played by Ajay Devgan. The film became a shash hit and earned Kangana a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the Zee Cine Awards. Songs from the film also helped it's success.

Kangana as Tanuja in 'Tanu Weds Manu' - 2011

Talking of music, Kangana's latest release 'Tanu Weds Manu' contains one of the hottest records of the year. Yes I am of course talking about 'Sadi Gali' - which is featured above. K's performance in the film is to date her most colourful. She looked stunning no denying that but her expressions and body language reminded me of a late-1980s Sridevi. She was just so gorgeous and playful and fatal with her eyes - I was pretty much drooling. The film turned out to be a big hit and our gal is riding high on it's success.


What does the future hold? Well our diva said she would love to work with Aamir Khan - I hope he signs her up for something as I think they would make a smashing pair on screen. Not to worry though as she has got quite a handful of films in her kitty at the moment. There is Rajkumar Santoshi's 'Power'; Tanvir Khan's 'One And Only'; Priyadarshan's 'Tezz'; and Kushan Nandy's 'Actor' all in the pipeline. In the near future her next releases are 'Game' (April 1st); 'Double Dhamaal' (June 10th); and David Dhawan's 'Rascals' (July).

Kangana as Sia in 'Game' - 2011

Recently I came across this interview on India-Forums, and it is what compelled me to write this article. I love the way she handles the three wannabe divas. She really shows 'em who is boss. Go girl! Enjoy!