Kangana Ranaut: Karan Johar is nobody to tell me to leave Bollywood
| Updated: Mar 9, 2017, 12:07 IST
Kangana Ranaut raised a lot of eyebrows with her 'nepotism' remark against Karan Johar during her debut 'Koffee With Karan' appearance. In one of the segments, Kangana told Karan that if she were ever to write an autobiography, Karan Johar would be the 'movie mafia' and the 'flagbearer of nepotism'.
While Karan did not say anything on the couch, the producer-director during a candid chat with a friend revealed that he thinks that Kangana might not have understood the meaning of nepotism and that he was tired of her playing the 'victim card'. Karan further added that if Kangana has so many issues with the nepotic ways of the industry then she should just leave it.
Talking to Mumbai Mirror, Kangana said:
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.
(Also Read: Kangana Ranaut: I don't waste time on equations that are not going anywhere)
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.
(Also Read: Did Karan Johar just ask Kangana Ranaut to leave Bollywood?!)
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.
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.
(Also Read: Karan Johar confirms news about being blessed with twins)
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.
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.
While Karan did not say anything on the couch, the producer-director during a candid chat with a friend revealed that he thinks that Kangana might not have understood the meaning of nepotism and that he was tired of her playing the 'victim card'. Karan further added that if Kangana has so many issues with the nepotic ways of the industry then she should just leave it.
Talking to Mumbai Mirror, Kangana said:
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.
(Also Read: Kangana Ranaut: I don't waste time on equations that are not going anywhere)
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.
(Also Read: Did Karan Johar just ask Kangana Ranaut to leave Bollywood?!)
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.
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.
(Also Read: Karan Johar confirms news about being blessed with twins)
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.
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.