Published 09 Mar, 2017 01:47pm

I am not fighting Karan Johar, I am fighting male chauvinism: Kangana Ranaut

Kangana Ranaut has never backed down from conflict and Karan Johar is learning it the hard way.

The director had criticised Kangana's candour on his show Koffee with Karan where the actor called out the host for being a "snooty flag-bearer of nepotism" who showed bias against her.

KJo was a good sport about Kangana's attitude on his show, but later on during his interview with Anupama Chopra he remarked that he was fed up of Kangana playing the "woman card" and the "victim card."

However, his snubs towards Kangana were met with a shrug from the Queen actor. According to Mumbai Mirror, she had the perfect response to his comments.

On Karan claiming he chooses not to work with Kangana because he's "not interested" in working with her, the actor replied: "To say that he chose not to give me work is to mock an artiste. As importantly, his memory appears to be poor because we worked together in a movie (Ungli), which was produced by him. And quickly realised our sensibilities did not match."

He had also said that he gave Kangana "the platform to speak" so as to "let the world see her opinion", but Kangana shrugged it off.

"I'm at a loss to understand how he gave me a platform by inviting me to be on his show. 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."

She also pointed out, "I think, it should be added here that I was invited to be a part of the show in its fifth season. His team requested my team for months for my dates."

The question about Kangana playing the "woman card and "victim card" was completely lost to the Rangoon actor.

She asked: "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."

She also made it a point to mention that while she believes Karan practices nepotism it is not him who she has a problem with, but the patriarchal mindset in the industry, "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."

Kangana called out the filmmaker for telling her to leave the industry, saying that undermines her struggle against the odds and winning despite the slim chances.

"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 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."

The multi-award-winning actress has definitely made her mark in Bollywood and received international acclaim for it.

"I'm definitely not going anywhere, Mr Johar," she concluded.

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