Kangana Ranaut Says Most Male Actors in Bollywood Are ‘Badtameez

Actor-politician Kangana Ranaut has often spoken candidly about her journey as an outsider in Bollywood and the challenges she faced before making her mark. In a recent interview with Hauterrfly, she revealed that most male actors in the industry were “badtameez” (impolite), but she never let their behaviour affect her.

On dealing with male co-stars

When asked if she had ever faced inappropriate advances from male leads, Kangana replied, “Maine zyada heroes ke saath kaam hi nahi kiya hain! Mera main concern yahi tha ki badtameez bahut hain heroes (I haven’t worked with many heroes. My main concern was that most of them were extremely impolite).”

Clarifying further, she said her criticism was not about sexual misconduct, but about unprofessional behaviour. “Sirf main sexual tareeke se nahi bol rahi hoon. Late aana set pe, badtameeziyan karna, heroine ko neecha dikhana, sideline karna, choti van dena… mujhe kaafi trouble bhi hua ki kitne cases ye mujh pe kiye isiliye kyunki main wahape inn cheezon se okay nahi thi. Jabki most girls are okay with this, toh unko laga ki isko kyu itna ghamand hain (I’m not speaking only in a sexual context. Things like arriving late, behaving badly, belittling the heroine, sidelining her, giving her a small van… I faced a lot of trouble for not accepting such behaviour. Many cases were filed against me for this reason. Since most girls were okay with it, they wondered why I was being so stubborn).”

From outsider to National Award winner

Kangana debuted in Bollywood with Gangster (2006), directed by Anurag Basu and produced by Mahesh Bhatt. She went on to appear in Woh Lamhe (2006) and Life in a Metro (2007), before her breakthrough role in Madhur Bhandarkar’s Fashion (2008), which won her a National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress. She cemented her position with Queen (2014) and Tanu Weds Manu Returns (2015), earning three more National Awards over the years.