Kangana's inspiring confession

 

As ‘The New Face Of India’ at the Women In The World Summit, Kangana Ranaut spoke about her growing up years, her struggle in Bollywood and gender equality. Here’s what the brave actor said in the interview. Truly inspiring!

On growing up as a girl-child
“Perhaps the only expectation (from a girl) is that you grow up as a presentable young woman and get a decent spouse. I wasn’t a child an Indian parent would like to have. I was a pain! I didn’t see myself as a liability, I guess my parents did. I saw myself as more than that. I was confident of myself. I had a mind of my own.

On daring to take the plunge
“I wanted to be my own hero so I ran away from my house. My quest to prove that I am a lot more than (what) people think of me pushed me to leave home.”

On the constant need for approval
“I don’t thing we need anyone’s approval for what we do… It’s a lot more important for women to accept themselves as opposed to others’ approval of them. Others’ opinion will always shift, their perspective will change.”

On not being accepted
“It was no fairytale. I was nothing like I am today. I couldn’t speak a word of English. In England, people might be understanding of that, but in Bombay if you don’t speak English, people would ask ‘How does she expect to work in Hindi films?'”

On the struggle to fit in
"In Mumbai I ended up sleeping on the pavement and didn’t have food to eat. My father called and said, ‘Did you learn your lesson?’ And I said, ‘No, you better get ready to learn yours.’”

On Bollywood
“Bollywood films do objectify women, not all of them but some of them do.”

On being a go-getter:
“When I started out, they dismissed me like a nobody but today I am who I am because my understanding of myself never changed. As women we shouldn’t hope to get our due. We need to get up and get it ourselves.”

On being happy with one’s self
“I find a lot of pride in being who I am. I really don’t know any other way. I am a lot more than my appearance or my age or my colour or my hair.”

On femininity and how people perceive it
“Why single out India, that’s a problem everywhere. Feminine as an emotion, which would be compassion and kindness, is seen as a weakness… We need to change that mentality. We need to respect feminine as an emotion and not crush it but to love and value it. History is witness that in past if anything could conquer the darkest and deepest corners of the human soul, it has always been feminine. They offer the only way to penetrate the darkness — not anger or aggressive masculine emotions.”

On the road ahead
“In India we have a lot of work to do. We need a lot of role models that young people and their parents can follow.”