The Entertainment Journalists Guild has boycotted actor Kangana Ranaut for lashing out at a journalist during a press meet for her new movie Judgmentall Hai Kya. The Press Club of India has backed the guild’s decision.
Kangana Ranaut, however, has refused to apologise to the journalist.
ThePrint asks: Is Indian media being unfair to Kangana Ranaut?
In a film industry that worships commercial success, Kangana Ranaut doesn’t need anything else
Senior Journalist
Kangana Ranaut has requested a section of the media she considers “deshdrohis” and “bikau” to ban her. They should listen to her. Stars such as Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan have survived for many years despite having inimical relations with the media. By all accounts, so can she.
She is talented, works hard, and has legions of fans who are eager to see her onscreen. In a film industry that worships commercial success, she doesn’t need anything else. She also has a fierce sister-protector who refuses to let anyone get away with less-than-complete acknowledgement of her work.
If her films are good, they will work at the box office. If they are not, they won’t. She doesn’t need to manufacture an enemy to blame and the media is quite within its rights to protest against her description of them and her doubting of their motives.
There are enough alternative avenues in the age of social media for both of them to communicate their viewpoints about each other directly to the movie-watching audience. In what is likely to be a long career for both Kangana Ranaut and her critics, they may well be friends again.
Like a politician, Kangana Ranaut has mastered the art of becoming the story by generating controversy
Contributing editor, ThePrint
The Indian media is being very unfair to Kangana Ranaut. The fair treatment to a publicity-monger like her is to ignore her. That would be fair. Who’s Kangana Ranaut? Why is this B-grade actor getting the mileage she wants from the media by creating a controversy before every film?
Like a politician, Kangana Ranaut has mastered the art of becoming the story by generating controversy. Also, Kangana Ranaut fills your mind-space and you’re compelled to learn about her upcoming film. The peak of Kangana’s career was the 2014 film Queen. She has had no great film since then. Kangana thinks she can get people talking about her films by talking about her. She’s wrong.
In the months and years to come, Kangana will create even more controversy. Since her acting career is going nowhere, she has two options. She could join politics, or she could become Rakhi Sawant (no offence meant to Rakhi Sawant, who is more honest to herself than Kangana). Regardless of the option she chooses, the media will continue to be more than fair to her, dancing to her tune, giving her the headline-attention she seeks.
Kangana has already become the celebrity who’s known not for her films but for being Kangana, and this could not have happened without the media.
Also read: Kangana Ranaut & Anupam Kher target liberals, but their patriotic act falls flat
Boycotting Kangana Ranaut may be a bit harsh but she fully deserves the backlash
Madhavi Pothukuchi
Senior web editor, ThePrint
Kangana Ranaut seems to have descended into sensationalising herself for no good reason. The video of her spat with a journalist clearly shows that she started the fight — by accusing the journalist of running “a smear campaign” over criticisms of her film Manikarnika. Now, after offending the journalist, she has decided to attack the entire media industry. Again, for no good reason.
This is a sad state of affairs, given how Kangana Ranaut used to draw a lot of support for saying and doing all the right things in an industry that rarely stands up for a cause. She shook things up for the fraternity that is so congealed in its toxic ways.
But now, Kangana Ranaut appears to have turned into a caricature of herself. Boycotting her may be a little harsh, but the backlash is deserved and, in a way, predictable.
The media is generally penalised (and rightly so, in some cases) for many things. But this kind of senseless attack on a journalist doing his job is a little out of order. It does deserve to be addressed, as it is common for Bollywood to slam the media whenever it’s convenient.
Also read: Kangana Ranaut is Ms Bharat on the warpath, with cow and contempt in her armour
Kangana Ranaut calling journalists ‘anti-national’ is symptomatic of the times
Intern, ThePrint
Brow-beating a journalist, who is asking valid questions, by shouting him down and trying to pass off your own version of events as the only ‘truth’ is symptomatic of the current times.
When Kangana Ranaut calls a section of media ‘anti-national’, which is threatening to destroy the social and cultural fabric of India, she is only following the larger political trend of labeling any dissent or uncomfortable question as ‘anti-national’.
In the last few years, media-bashing has become everyone’s favourite hobby, and unfortunately, a large section of the media hasn’t resisted it.
This time, however, the Indian media has put up a united front and called out the rude behaviour of Kangana Ranaut. I am more than willing to support a boycott of the actor.
One hopes Kangana Ranaut directs a bit of her energy towards calling out the real ‘professional trolls’. That would be a welcome change.