I never thought I’d find myself on the same side of a debate as Kangana Ranaut.
The Padma Shri and National Award-winning Bollywood actor is a difficult woman. She has been labelled a “firebrand” by others, a “babbar sherni” by herself, and has lived out a complete character arc in her public life. She started out as a sympathetic figure, bullied and ridiculed for her acting and her accent. She sailed past that to become a liberal feminist darling, delivering superhits like Queen in 2014 and the Tanu Weds Manu series in 2011 and 2015. She remained steadfast in her critique of Bollywood’s nepotism, questioning the pay disparity between male and female actors. In the surprising final third of her heroine’s journey, however, Ranaut chose to become a provocateur on the back of a string of “nationalistic” failures. Less Queen, more Panga.
As a master of using controversy to stay relevant, it’s unsurprising that Ranaut’s political debut should be anything other than contentious. And this is where I find myself – reluctantly – concurring with her.
No woman deserves to be abused
A day after Ranaut was declared the BJP candidate for the Mandi Lok Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh – a move that’s surprising only to those who haven’t watched a Ranaut film since 2019 – an unsavoury post circulated on social media.
It played on the meaning of the word “mandi”, hinting at a brothel/red light area and likening Ranaut to a sex worker. The post emerged on the social media handles of Supriya Shrinate, chairperson of Congress’ social media and digital platforms wing. It was further shared by party leader HS Ahir. Both have gone on to deny that they were responsible for it. Shrinate imputed it to a parody account run in her name; Ahir went on to say “sorry dil se” so we know he means it. Veteran journalist and author Mrinal Pande also used the innuendo in a tweet but deleted it soon after.
The BJP’s IT machinery, which is nothing if not expeditious in a good row, moved with predictable swiftness. The party’s IT cell in-charge, Amit Malviya called for Shrinate’s dismissal over the “obnoxious comment”. (Yes, the same Malviya who tweeted a video of the Hathras rape victim in violation of laws, and who is yet to say something about the sexual assault of a student at IIT-BHU by IT cell members). Smriti Zubin Irani – who continues to hold the position of Minister of Women and Child Development of India despite the heinous crimes against women in Manipur and elsewhere – also spurred Ranaut on. It’s all pretty rich coming from a party renowned for gems like “Didi oh Didi” or “50 crore ki girlfriend” or “Italian bar girl”.
Still, that there is a lot of outrage over these few tweets, thanks to the BJP’s extremely online status, does not diminish the fact that it deserves our condemnation. No woman, no matter how far away from us on the political and ideological spectrum, deserves to be abused or have her work debased like this. Bringing the discourse down to these odious, misogynistic remarks, makes it worse for all women.
I say this with the complete knowledge that Ranaut has never accorded other women even this modicum of grace. Just like the “rate card” jibe that has been levelled at her, she’s labelled the elderly women of Shaheen Bagh, the face of the anti-CAA demonstrations, “protestors for hire”.
Ranaut might be mounting a passionate defence of female sexuality right now, but four years ago, she termed Urmila Matondkar a “soft porn star” after the latter got a Congress ticket. Earlier this year, she called Rihanna, who she has beefed with since the farmers’ agitation, a “porn singer”. She further attempted to shame the pop sensation by drawing a Madonna-whore parallel between the two.
In the days that Ranaut was still aligning with Sushant Singh Rajput’s death by suicide, she did not afford his girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty a smidge of sympathy. Instead, she cheered on the witch-hunt against the actress, calling her a “gold digger”, and encouraged authorities to investigate the “small-time druggie who was living off a vulnerable and broken, self-made superstar”.
Also read: I’m an Indian woman, I’m tired of outraging. Jharkhand tourist gangrape won’t change a thing
Why side with Kangana Ranaut?
These indefensible dog whistles that unleash hate upon other women are the reason feminists like me find ourselves in the unfortunate position of having to defend her.
I can almost predict the narrative that will now follow: Far too much oxygen will be expended on this controversy. Meanwhile, women who don’t enjoy a fraction of the privileges associated with being a Bollywood star aligned with the ruling party will continue to fight these failing battles at home, the workplace, and indeed online, where armies of “nationalist” critics will hound and dox them.
Ranaut will retreat into the perennial victim position she thrives on, and any legitimate criticism of her will be termed misogyny. Ranaut’s very persona is based on exceptionalism, defined on the basis of her isolation from the crowd. In that, she is entirely ordinary. It’s a persona she has carefully crafted, a trad heroine located in direct opposition to the feminists who made her journey possible.
Yet, we must side with her on this one count. Defending even frequently misogynistic women like Ranaut against abuse does not amount to an endorsement of their views. Instead, it’s an affirmation of feminism’s foundational commitment to dignity, autonomy, and equality for everyone. Our support shouldn’t hinge on their stance on feminism.
Sometimes, taking the moral high ground absolutely sucks, especially when we are required to side with those we profoundly disagree with. But to paraphrase John Milton from a different context, what good is a virtue that is not tested? It’s not a fair fight, but when has it ever been?
A part of me hopes that maybe Ranaut will finally know what it means to be on the receiving end of abuse. Maybe this will give her pause the next time she launches into a tirade against other women. Maybe she will be reminded that when it counted, many women did stand up for her. But that would discount Ranaut’s canniness as well as my own judgement.
My most fervent hope is that this controversy will not escalate any further. Then, we can go back to fighting Ranaut on the things that really matter.
Karanjeet Kaur is a journalist, former editor of Arré, and a partner at TWO Design. She tweets @Kaju_Katri. Views are personal.
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)
Pathetic article have been reading The Print articles for a long time never came across such a pathetic article.blatant baised attack on the ruling govt.judt because giving ticket to Kangana
Completely biased towards BJP by the so called feminist. Mentioning Manipur but not sandeshkhali..outright abuses by congress party towards BJP women Leaders including Smriti Irani not mentioned shows he writers only thing is to target the BJP .she is articulating her hate towards women with different thought of school nothing other than that.Completely baised article just to proof “look i am feminist and a libru””
No woman deserves to be abused:
– four years ago, she termed Urmila Matondkar a “soft porn star”
– Earlier this year, she called Rihanna, who she has beefed with since the farmers’ agitation, a “porn singer”
– calling her a “gold digger”
I feel like some humans deserve it. And she wouldn’t be the first woman to deserve it.
Anyway, unlike her own jibes, she wasn’t abused for being a woman. She’s abused for being a sellout.
This is such a beautifully balanced and nuanced article.
The author manages to find ways to empathise while never once forgiving the sins of this — by many accounts — despicable ‘celebrity’.
This piece shows not just great writing talent and experience, but a mature wisdom that’s hard to come by these days.
Bravo to the author, and looking forward to more of her writing!