Has Kangana Gone Too Far?
Kangana Ranaut, leading Bollywood artist and national award winner is known for calling people out in the name of nepotism, especially in the industry. Her fierce attitude was first seen on the show, ‘Koffee with Karan’, where she called him the ‘The movie mafia and flag bearer of nepotism’.
This made the headlines and turned a lot of heads for Kangana. Karan Johar has been questioned for his choice of launching celebrity kids. Kangana has spearheaded the nepotism debate fiercely in all aspects. Winning a national award, she prove
d that despite not being part of some power bloc, she made it all own her own. Kangana Ranaut has given some exceptionally great performances on screen especially in, ‘Queen’ shattering the image of the damsel in distress. People have labelled her as ill-mouthed and ‘too critical’. It is also a shock to people that a woman, from the outside has taken a stand which points fingers at big celebrities. People, in a very entitled fashion, have also mocked Kangana for not being fluent in the English language. This very well presents the existing class divide in Bollywood.
The industry is clearly divided between the big Bollywood households and the outsiders. Fair opportunity and representation is a problem when there is a section of people landing their big break more often than others. Now, this is a clear issue of equality of opportunity. The star kids have it easier which is an established fact. More times than so, there are under heavy critique but, even after multiple flops, they always have the chance. However, on the other side, people from the outside have mentioned about being on their best performance for it would only take a bad performance or film to oust them thus, ending their careers.
Mental health is a tricky subject in India. It is considered an excuse more so than a disease. There is a stigma built around mental health where individuals posing such issues are called, ‘abnormal’, ‘retard’ or ‘psycho’. Due to limited awareness, this stigma is deepened further. The little knowledge that people have is put to use in preaching. However, it needs to be understood that only a professional can and should be giving that ‘knowledge’ to the people who actually need it. Depression is a common disease in more and more people currently. The shame around mental health makes it difficult to acknowledge the problem.
Deepika Padukone openly spoke of her battle with depression. She was one of the few public figures who went on record about her disease. Recently, there have been social media acknowledgements about the amplification of mental health. Ms Ranaut campaigned against the case calling Sushant Singh Rajput’s death a murder. She was headstrong and made sure that her voice was heard. Her determination towards it led to media outrage leading the CBI to take over the case hence, it is an alleged murder. Amidst her attempt to do so, she has dragged multiple people along the way. Recently, she commented on Deepika Padukone’s mental health. She said that Deepika claimed that she faced depression for something that happened in 2008 and while undergoing a mental illness, Deepika was working, partying and dating other people.
This comment loosely drops the whole fight to amplify mental health. It reduces someone’s trauma and pain to nothing. Depression looks different on everybody. One may be going about the daily chores yet internally being at their worst. Mental health practitioners have time and again requested them to make the diagnosis. Truly, the case of Sushant Singh Rajput was portrayed as a suicide however, there is a sensitive way of talking about someone else’s issues which is not even your story to tell.
These events truly show the need to build a better community and spread mental health awareness. The idea of seeking professional help needs to be normalised. While being good friends or partners or family members, if there is a need to approach help, it should be done. Mental health is not easy battle; it is a due course and a long fight of each individual living with it.