Kangana Ranaut (pronounced [kəŋɡənaː raːɳoːʈʰ]; born 23 March 1986) is an Indian film actress. She has established a career inBollywood and is one of the highest-paid actresses in India. Ranaut is particularly known in the media for expressing her honest opinions in public and is frequently credited as one of the most fashionable Indian celebrities. She is the recipient of several awards, including three National Film Awardsand Filmfare Awards in four categories.
Born
23 March 1986 (age 31)
Bhambla, Himachal Pradesh, India
Other names
Kangna Ranaut
Occupation
Actress
Years active
2006–present
Born in Bhambla, a small town in Himachal Pradesh, Ranaut initially aspired to become a doctor at the insistence of her parents. Determined to build her own career path, she relocated to Delhi at age sixteen, where she briefly became a model. After training under the theatre director Arvind Gaur, Ranaut made her feature film debut in the 2006 thrillerGangster, for which she was awarded theFilmfare Award for Best Female Debut. She received praise for portraying emotionally intense characters in the dramas Woh Lamhe(2006), Life in a... Metro (2007) and Fashion(2008). For the last of these, she won theNational Film Award for Best Supporting Actress and a Filmfare Award in the same category.
Ranaut featured in the commercially successful films Raaz: The Mystery Continues(2009) and Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai(2010), though she was criticised for beingtypecast in neurotic roles. A comic role opposite R. Madhavan in the 2011 box office hit Tanu Weds Manu was well-received, though this was followed by a series of brief, glamorous roles in films that failed to propel her career forward. She then played a mutantopposite Hrithik Roshan in the science fiction film Krrish 3 (2013), one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films, and won theFilmfare and National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in the comedy-drama Queen (2014). In 2015, Ranaut portrayed a dual role in Tanu Weds Manu Returns, the most successful Bollywood film featuring a female protagonist, for which she won a Filmfare Critics Award and a second consecutive National Film Award for Best Actress.
Early life and background
Ranaut was born on 23 March 1986 at Bhambla (now Surajpur), a small town in theMandi district of Himachal Pradesh, into aRajput family.[1][2][3][4] Her mother, Asha Ranaut, is a school teacher, and her father, Amardeep Ranaut, is a businessman.[5] She has an elder sister, Rangoli, who as of 2014 works as her manager and a younger brother, Akshat.[6][7] Her great-grandfather, Sarju Singh Ranaut, was a Member of the Legislative Assembly and her grandfather was an officer for the Indian Administrative Service.[8] She grew up in a joint family at their ancestralhaveli (mansion) in Bhambla, and described her childhood as "simple and happy".[7][9]
According to Ranaut, she was "stubborn and rebellious" while growing up: "If my father would gift my brother a plastic gun and get a doll for me, I would not accept that. I questioned the discrimination."[10] She did not subscribe to the stereotypes that were expected of her and experimented with fashion from a young age, often pairing up accessories and clothes that would seem "bizarre" to her neighbours.[9][10] Ranaut was educated at the DAV School in Chandigarh, where she pursued science as her core subject, remarking that she was "very studious" and "always paranoid about [...] results".[11][12] She initially intended to become a doctor on the insistence of her parents.[13]However, a failed unit test in chemistry during her twelfth grade led Ranaut to reconsider her career prospects and despite preparing for the All India Pre Medical Test, she did not turn up for the exam.[13] Determined to find her "space and freedom", she relocated to Delhi at the age of sixteen.[6][14] Her decision not to pursue medicine led to constant feuding with her parents and her father refused to sponsor a pursuit he considered to be aimless.[10]
In Delhi, Ranaut was unsure which career to choose; the Elite Modelling Agency were impressed by her looks and suggested that she model for them.[5][14] She took on a few modelling assignments, but generally disliked the career as she found "no scope for creativity".[5][14] Ranaut decided to shift focus towards acting and joined the Asmita Theatre Group, where she trained under the theatre director Arvind Gaur.[15] She participated in Gaur's theatre workshop at the India Habitat Centre, acting in several of his plays.
23 March 1986 (age 31)
Bhambla, Himachal Pradesh, India
Other names
Kangna Ranaut
Occupation
Actress
Years active
2006–present
Born in Bhambla, a small town in Himachal Pradesh, Ranaut initially aspired to become a doctor at the insistence of her parents. Determined to build her own career path, she relocated to Delhi at age sixteen, where she briefly became a model. After training under the theatre director Arvind Gaur, Ranaut made her feature film debut in the 2006 thrillerGangster, for which she was awarded theFilmfare Award for Best Female Debut. She received praise for portraying emotionally intense characters in the dramas Woh Lamhe(2006), Life in a... Metro (2007) and Fashion(2008). For the last of these, she won theNational Film Award for Best Supporting Actress and a Filmfare Award in the same category.
Ranaut featured in the commercially successful films Raaz: The Mystery Continues(2009) and Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai(2010), though she was criticised for beingtypecast in neurotic roles. A comic role opposite R. Madhavan in the 2011 box office hit Tanu Weds Manu was well-received, though this was followed by a series of brief, glamorous roles in films that failed to propel her career forward. She then played a mutantopposite Hrithik Roshan in the science fiction film Krrish 3 (2013), one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films, and won theFilmfare and National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in the comedy-drama Queen (2014). In 2015, Ranaut portrayed a dual role in Tanu Weds Manu Returns, the most successful Bollywood film featuring a female protagonist, for which she won a Filmfare Critics Award and a second consecutive National Film Award for Best Actress.
Early life and background
Ranaut was born on 23 March 1986 at Bhambla (now Surajpur), a small town in theMandi district of Himachal Pradesh, into aRajput family.[1][2][3][4] Her mother, Asha Ranaut, is a school teacher, and her father, Amardeep Ranaut, is a businessman.[5] She has an elder sister, Rangoli, who as of 2014 works as her manager and a younger brother, Akshat.[6][7] Her great-grandfather, Sarju Singh Ranaut, was a Member of the Legislative Assembly and her grandfather was an officer for the Indian Administrative Service.[8] She grew up in a joint family at their ancestralhaveli (mansion) in Bhambla, and described her childhood as "simple and happy".[7][9]
According to Ranaut, she was "stubborn and rebellious" while growing up: "If my father would gift my brother a plastic gun and get a doll for me, I would not accept that. I questioned the discrimination."[10] She did not subscribe to the stereotypes that were expected of her and experimented with fashion from a young age, often pairing up accessories and clothes that would seem "bizarre" to her neighbours.[9][10] Ranaut was educated at the DAV School in Chandigarh, where she pursued science as her core subject, remarking that she was "very studious" and "always paranoid about [...] results".[11][12] She initially intended to become a doctor on the insistence of her parents.[13]However, a failed unit test in chemistry during her twelfth grade led Ranaut to reconsider her career prospects and despite preparing for the All India Pre Medical Test, she did not turn up for the exam.[13] Determined to find her "space and freedom", she relocated to Delhi at the age of sixteen.[6][14] Her decision not to pursue medicine led to constant feuding with her parents and her father refused to sponsor a pursuit he considered to be aimless.[10]
In Delhi, Ranaut was unsure which career to choose; the Elite Modelling Agency were impressed by her looks and suggested that she model for them.[5][14] She took on a few modelling assignments, but generally disliked the career as she found "no scope for creativity".[5][14] Ranaut decided to shift focus towards acting and joined the Asmita Theatre Group, where she trained under the theatre director Arvind Gaur.[15] She participated in Gaur's theatre workshop at the India Habitat Centre, acting in several of his plays.
