In a freewheeling chat with India Today, Kangana Ranaut opened up about the public spat she had with her co-star and alleged former paramour, Hrithik Roshan – and the impact it had on her family. Admitting that last year was pretty bad for her, Kangana spoke of the ‘character assassination’ she suffered when her spat with Hrithik got uglier by the day.
“When you deal with malice and betrayal from someone who you have been extremely close to, of course, it does affect you. There is character assassination – that too publicly – by that individual in whom you put all your faith and love. It has been very hard to deal with. But the fighter instinct in me dominates every other instinct,” she said, adding that many women commit suicide instead of striking back.
“I’m not saying strip others of their dignity, too. But you have got to say no to the healer archetype. I am extremely bold. I sent a notice back. I did not take it lying down,” she said, referring to the scores of notices both the actors sent each other during their fight.
Kangana even spoke about how her mother feared the worst when Bollywood chose to side with Hrithik. “She would cry all the time. Out of concern and love, they wanted me to shut up – not because they didn’t know want the truth to be out, but (because) that’s the best thing. That’s not the way to live. If you let your guard down, the other person then gets an opportunity to attack you. It is important to protect yourself.”
The actress had faced name-calling, and was even slut-shamed by Hrithik himself, but she has taken it all in her stride. “So I am a whore; I’m sexually attractive, have psychological problems, capable of falling in love with men passionately. So what is my future? What should be done with me? They have nothing to say. They can’t kill the fierceness,” she told India Today.
Kangana and Hrithik have acted together in two films, Kites and Krish-3. Reports of their alleged affair cropped up early last year, and following public allegations, Hrithik filed a lawsuit against Kangana accusing her of cyber-stalking and harassment. Denying the charges, Ranaut filed a counter-charge against him, claiming that his lawsuit was an attempt to cover-up their affair for the benefit of his divorce proceedings.
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A probe was conducted into the romantic emails the two had allegedly exchanged, with the legal matter coming to an end in November last year. The emails indicated that Hrithik Roshan was in a relationship with Kangana. Roshan, however, maintained that the emails in question were the handiwork of an impostor. He even sent a notice to Ranaut demanding an apology. His team denied Ranaut’s claims that the two were in a relationship, and instead claimed that Ranaut has Asperger’s Syndrome.
Kangana further added: “I speak my mind. I don’t think twice before answering back to anyone. It doesn’t matter what a great artist you are and how big you are in the industry. I don’t encourage bullying or teasing. Why should I?”
The actress is currently awaiting the release of her film Rangoon with Saif Ali Khan and Shahid Kapoor.