"You have been doing a smear campaign."
Kangana Ranaut is one of the most popular actresses of Bollywood.
She has consistently given sterling performances in several films.
However, she is also unafraid to voice her opinions and stand up for her beliefs.
While some fans applaud this attitude, Kangana’s bold and outspoken statements have frequently led to controversy.
Join us as we look at eight times Kangana Ranaut found herself embroiled in controversy.
The Legal Battle with Hrithik Roshan
One of her most infamous scandals, Kangana’s legal tussle with Hrithik Roshan gets tongues wagging.
Kangana and Hrithik have worked together in Kites (2010) and Krrish 3 (2013).
In 2016, however, Kangana referred to Hrithik as a “silly ex” which did not go down well with the Fighter star.
Hrithik sent Kangana Ranaut a legal notice. In response, she sent him a counter-notice, stating that his reaction was just to cover up their affair.
Kangana appeared on Aap Ki Adalat in 2017, where she discussed the issue at length, and demanded an apology from Hrithik.
She added that she had suffered mental trauma because of him. The same year, Hrithik sat down with Arnab Goswami.
Delving into the issue, Hrithik says: “I don’t even know [Kangana]. [She] may be a wonderful person.
“But why [is she] doing this to me?”
The matter was ultimately closed due to lack of evidence.
Karan Johar is the ‘Movie Mafia’
Kangana has famously denounced Karan Johar, despite him being one of the leading filmmakers of the industry.
The controversy between the pair started in 2017 when the actress appeared on Koffee With Karan.
During the ‘Rapid Fire’ segment, Kangana told Karan:
“If my biopic is ever made, you’ll play that stereotypical Bollywood biggie who is very snooty.
“The one who is completely intolerant to outsiders, the flag-bearer of nepotism, the movie mafia.”
While visibly stunned, Karan laughed the comment off.
However, during a visit to the London School of Economics, Karan fired back at Kangana Ranaut.
He states: “When she says ‘movie mafia’, what does she mean?
“Are we sitting and not giving her work? Is that what makes us mafia? No, we do that by choice.
“I’m done with Kangana playing the ‘woman’ card and the ‘victim’ card.”
Justin Rao’s ‘Smear Campaign’
During a media interaction for the promotion of Judgementall Hai Kya (2019), Kangana got into a heated argument with the journalist Justin Rao.
In a video clip displaying the altercation, Justin gets Kangana’s attention to ask her a question.
However, before he can do so, Kangana says: “Justin, you’ve become my enemy.
“You’ve been writing some very bad things about me. How can you think so badly?”
Justin defends himself and replies: “Kangana, you cannot intimidate a journalist because you’re in the power position here.”
The journalist also requests evidence of Kangana’s claim but the actress remains silent, only saying that she’ll “send it” to him.
Kangana goes on to say: “I won’t answer your question. You have been doing a smear campaign about me.”
Justin then appears to lose his cool and bellows: “This is absolutely ridiculous, Kangana! You cannot do this.”
Another journalist then shouts, prompting Kangana’s co-star Rajkummar Rao to step in and apologise.
Farmers & X
In September 2020, an uproar broke out when the Indian parliament approved three agricultural acts.
This led to an Indian farmers’ protest.
While many Bollywood stars chose to remain silent about this, Kangana Ranaut spoke up.
The Marnikarnika star sent out several controversial tweets.
She also verbally attacked Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Diljit Dosanjh.
The singer Rihanna tweeted her support for farming protestors.
Following this, Kangana Ranaut labelled farmers as “terrorists”.
She also called Rihanna a “porn singer”.
These controversial tweets led X (formerly Twitter) to delete Kangana’s account. In response, she called the social media site a “China puppet”.
X has since reinstated Kangana’s feed on the platform.
Twinkle Khanna is a ‘Privileged Brat’
While Kangana Ranaut is a vocal person, Twinkle Khanna is also strong-willed and courageous.
Former Bollywood actress Twinkle is the daughter of veteran stars Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia.
Advocating against nepotism, Kangana took a dig at Twinkle in 2024.
In a previous clip, Twinkle compared men to plastic bags.
She said: “We never spoke about feminism or equality or anything.
“But it was very clear that there was absolutely no need for a man.
“It would be very nice to have a man like you would have a nice handbag.
“But even if you had a plastic bag it would do.”
Reacting to the clip on her Instagram Story, Kangana responded:
“What are these privileged brats who call their men polythene bags, are they trying to be cool?
“Nepo kids born with a silver spoon, given film careers on golden platters, couldn’t do justice to that for sure.”
Allegations against Vikas Bahl
Vikas Bahl and Kangana Ranaut are known for collaborating on their blockbuster Queen (2013).
In 2018, a former employee of Vikas’ Phantom Films accused the director of sexual harassment.
Kangana supported the woman and revealed her own alleged experiences involving Vikas.
She explained: “Totally believe her. Even though Vikas was married when we were filming Queen, he bragged about having casual sex with a new partner every other day.
“He was scared of me but still every time we met, socially greeted and hugged each other, he’d bury his face in my neck and hold me really tight and breathe in the smell of my hair.
“It took me a great amount of strength and effort to pull myself out of his embrace.”
“He’d say, ‘I love how you smell, K’.
“It’s amusing that after the news of Phantom dissolution, many are finding the courage to attack him.
“Shame on such a society. Go look at yourselves in the mirror, a bunch of cowards.
“Attacking powerless men won’t begin a movement.”
In 2019, Vikas was exonerated of any wrongdoing by an official Internal Complaints Committee (ICC).
Ranbir Kapoor & Alia Bhatt
During a 2019 interview, Kangana slammed the notion that Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt are “kids”.
She asks the amused host: “What is this whole thing of calling them kids?
“Ranbir Kapoor is 37, but he’s the young kid of the generation?
“My father was a middle-aged man at that time!
“And Alia Bhatt just turned 27. At 27, I was writing dialogues for Queen.
“This is absolutely unfair.”
The host then reasons: “They are not in this room. It’s unfair to talk about them.”
However, Kangana refuses to change her stance.
The star goes on to say that issues about the country cannot be personalised.
Airport ‘Slap’
In June 2024, Kangana Ranaut raised eyebrows when footage of her emerged online.
The video clip showed her at Chandigarh Airport, where an official named Kulwinder Kaur appeared to slap her when she was examining her.
This was apparently in response to the comments Kangana made about the aforementioned farmers’ protest.
Following the incident, Kangana said: “I am safe. The incident happened during the security check at the airport.
“The moment checking was done, a woman constable in CISF in a different cabin waited for me to cross her and she hit me on the face from the side and abused me.
“I asked her why she did this, and she said that it was because of the farmers’ protest.
“What concerns me is the rise in terror in Punjab and how do we handle this.”
The star also called out the film industry for not supporting her.
She declared: “Dear film industry, you all are either celebrating or are totally mum on the airport attack on me.
“This can happen to you or your children as well.
“When you celebrate a terror attack on someone, be ready for the day it comes back to you as well.”
Kangana Ranaut’s outspoken viewpoints have always divided opinion.
While some slam her bluntness, others cheer her on.
One thing that cannot be denied is the debate and discussion her thoughts often pave the way for.
In the realm of Bollywood, few celebrities wear their heart on their sleeves quite like Kangana Ranaut.
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