Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut and Karan
Johar's war of words refuses to end. It all started when Kangana called KJo a
'snooty flag bearer of nepotism' on his show Koffee with Karan when
the former had gone on it to promote her last movie Rangoon. Karan replied
to Kangana's comments when he went for an event at London School of Economics.
At the event, Johar defended himself by telling that Ranaut
may not have understood what nepotism actually means and also blamed her for
using the 'woman card' and 'victim card' too often. Answering to KJo's
statements, Kangana spoke to a daily from her Kerala getaway.
When questioned about it, Kangana told, "I can't speak
for Karan Johar's understanding of nepotism. If he thinks that it is restricted
to nephews, daughters and cousins, I have nothing to say. But, to say that he
chose not to give me work is to mock an artiste. As importantly, his memory
appears to be poor because we worked together in a movie (Ungli), which was
produced by him. And quickly realised our sensibilities did not match."
She continued to add, "I'm also at a loss to understand
how he gave me a platform by inviting me to be on his show. (Johar had said
that he gave Ranaut a platform to “give it off to Karan“.) I've been on several
platforms before with several global icons. To say he helped me voice my
opinions is to discredit me as an artiste and a public personality. And, I
think, it should be added here that I was invited to be a part of the show in
its fifth season. (Johar's talk show made its debut in 2004). His team
requested my team for months for my dates.”
Kangana then dissected Karan's comments on her using the
victim card and the woman card. She clarifies, "But what is pertinent here
is: why is Karan Johar trying to shame a woman for being a woman? What is this
about the `woman card' and the `victim card'? This kind of talk is demeaning to
all women, particularly the vulnerable because they are the ones who really
need to use them.The `woman card' might not help you become a Wimbledon champ,
or win you Olympic medals, or bag National awards. It might not even land you a
job, but it can get a pregnant woman who feels her water is about to break a
`ladies' seat on a crowded bus. It can be used as a cry for help when you sense
a threat. The same goes for the `victim card', which women like my sister,
Rangoli, who is a victim of an acid attack, can use while fighting for justice
in court."
"I use every card possible. At the workplace, it's the
badass card to fight cutthroat competition. With my family and loved ones, it's
the love card. When fighting the world, it's the dignity card, and for a seat
in a bus, it's the woman card. What is important to understand is that we are
not fighting people, we are fighting a mentality. I am not fighting Karan
Johar, I am fighting male chauvinism," explains Kangana.
Kangana further reasons, "Now that Karan is the father
of a little daughter (Johar became a single parent of twins, who were born
through surrogacy last month), he should provide her with all these cards -the
`woman card' and the `victim card', as also the `self-made-independent-woman
card', and the `badass card' that I flashed on his show. We will use whatever
we need to ensure no one rocks our boat. I'm also a little surprised at the
“graciousness“ he says he displayed in choosing to not edit the jousty bits on
the show. While I'd have blacklisted the channel if something like that had
happened, let's also remember that a channel wants TRPs, and he is just a paid
host."
Before finish, Kangana concludes the call by answering to
Karan's 'leave the industry' statement. She tells, "Also, the Indian film
industry is not a small studio given to Karan by his father when he was in his
early 20s. That is just a small molecule. The industry belongs to every Indian
and is highly recommended for outsiders like me whose parents were too poor to
give me a formal training. I learnt on the job and got paid for it, using the
money to educate myself in New York. He is nobody to tell me to leave it. I'm
definitely not going anywhere, Mr Johar."
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