Following a series of notable box office disappointments, Kangana Ranaut feels that her upcoming film Emergency will bring her some respite. A biographical-historic drama set during the period of India’s Emergency, the film features Ranaut in the role of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. As a celebrity who is frequently embroiled in controversies due to her commentary on current and political affairs, speculation about Ranaut’s potential entry into politics has long persisted. While she has addressed this topic previously, her statements on the matter have often contradicted each other.
Recently, while participating in an event organised to launch the trailer of the upcoming movie Razakar: Silent Genocide Of Hyderabad, Ranaut was asked if she had any plans to become the Prime Minister of the country. Surprised by the question, she responded briefly but ‘wittily’, saying, “I just did a film called Emergency. After watching that movie, nobody will want me as the Prime Minister,” before laughing.
In February 2023, Ranaut had stated that she was not a political person but someone with political ideologies. On X (formerly Twitter), she noted, “I am a sensitive and sensible person, not a political person. I was asked to join politics many times, I didn’t,” in response to a tweet by TV actor Uorfi Javed.
Later that year, the actor said that the people should decide if she must enter politics. “If you say, ‘I want to be a politician,’ it’s a vulgar thought. You shouldn’t be the one to say it yourself; the public should say this,” she mentioned during an interview with ABP, emphasizing that it is the public who will decide if they want to give her that opportunity or not.
However, in October 2022, the same Ranaut had directly indicated openness to joining politics. During a session at Panchayat Aaj Tak, she said, “Jis tarah ke haalat honge, government chahegi mera participation ho (Depending on the kind of situation, and if the government needs my participation), I will be very much open to all kinds of participation. As I said, it would be great if people in Himachal Pradesh would give me a chance to serve. So, definitely, it will be sobhagya ki baat (a fortunate situation).”
In November 2023, Ranaut took a further step, expressing her desire to contest directly in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. When reporters asked her whether she would contest in the next Lok Sabha elections, Ranaut said, “Shri Krishna ki kripa rahi to ladenge (If Lord Krishna blesses, I will fight).”
Emergency, which was earlier slated to release on November 24, 2023, will now have a global release on June 14, 2024. Bankrolled by Ranaut herself, the film also stars Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Ashok Chhabra, Mahima Chaudhry, Milind Soman, Vishak Nair and Satish Kaushik in key roles.
Ranaut was last seen in the action thriller Tejas, which became one of the biggest box-office bombs of 2023, earning just Rs 8 crore against its massive budget of approximately Rs 60 crore. Her two films prior to Tejas — Chandramukhi 2 (2023) and Dhaakad (2022) — too had experienced significant failures at the box office.
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