Why did Kangana Ranaut attack the media, who defended her case?

Box office dynamo, darling of critics, defender of meritocracy, denunciator, feminist, patriot – and troll. Most movie stars have trouble keeping a single public image. This is clearly not the case of Kangana Ranaut, whose ability to self-invent threatens to exceed the experiences of Madonna in terms of adoption and loss of characters.

Last week, Ranaut revealed his latest avatar at an event intended to launch a song of his next film, Judgmentall Hai Kya, when she [accusa] the journalist Press Trust of India Justin Rao of

Ranaut's unprovoked attack caught the attention of other talents badociated with the film, including Rajkummar Rao, writer Kanika Dhillon and director Prakash Kovelamudi. The July 26 version will now be inseparable from Ranaut's decision to take away the hand that has nurtured him in recent years.

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The image that Ranaut himself describes is that of the wallflower that became the life of the party. The user-friendly tale of the intruder who has become a fearless and outspoken insider has found an echo in an industry crammed with descendants of famous family names. Ranaut is not the first or last name actor to climb the heights of the Hindi film industry. But in her stories, her ascent since Tanu Weds Manu in 2011 was the only one that mattered, since she was the only one to have the courage to come in to tell the truth in front of the power.

Any criticism of Ranaut – his performances, the commercial fate of his films, his statements – is treated as a missile attack against his person. Critics who dare to express their disgust for his films are denounced on Twitter by his manager and his sister, Rangoli Chandel. Like political trolls that populate any point of view different from ours, the Ranaut / Chandel team turned Twitter into a battleground and the culture of badytic thinking into a conspiracy against the actor .

This time, it's personal

Ranaut's first act of defiance earned him praise at the time. In 2016, Ranaut was stung by a beard that was intended for her by Hrithik Roshan and turned out to be the alleged friend of the movie star Bride and gave a series of awards. interviews supposed to reveal his perfidious ways. Ranaut earned respect for her refusal to conform to the stereotype of Other Woman.

In 2017, Ranaut proved to be an inside fool by describing the powerful producer Karan Johar as the "nepotism standard-bearer" on his Koffee. with Karan show. Ranaut articulated both a poorly kept secret and told her fan base and her reporters that, unlike her peers, she was not going to play it cautiously.

In their interviews, movie stars mastered the art of saying nothing while claiming to do so. say something. Ranaut promised a real copy rather than wrapped pablum – and she delivered

Thanks to interviews and a shootout of tweets that would shame Donald Trump, Ranaut and Chandel kept the heat on his real and imagined opponents, including Roshan. The brothers and sisters even became part of the recent public collapse of Hrithik's sister, Sunaina. When Sunaina told television last month that her father, renowned director Rakesh Roshan, was subjecting her to emotional cruelty as a result of an alleged relationship, Ranaut and Chandel suggested that they were sisters who are suffering. Ranaut has also repeatedly criticized his peers, such as Alia Bhatt and Taapsee Pannu, for alleged affronts.

Ranaut's sense of victimization intensified as she attempted to claim the authorship of her films. She was accused of interfering with Simran in 2017 and Manikarnika: Queen of Jhansi this year. In both cases, Ranaut claimed that she had intervened to save the films from some ruin. In an industry where it is known that male stars direct their productions and that filmmakers embody film scenarios adapted to their ego, Ranaut's actions have been transformed into additional proof of his honesty and courage.

Ranaut also gave lectures. other film personalities about the true nature of patriotism. This is a small step forward between the nationalist tweet and the description of the journalists as "termites" – a maneuver much appreciated by Indian politicians who play with the slightest emotion to put their rivals out of business. However, with almost all Hindi movie stars waving the flag on and off the screen, the patriotic movement had become a little crowded.

Journalists were then the next logical target. After all, the media is a fruit at hand waiting to be pilloried by anyone who wants to try it. While Ranaut's speeches against a group defending her are disconcerting, her actions are consistent with the widespread contempt that many now express for the media.

You hate how I love you

Among the movie stars who had a strained relationship with the media is Amitabh Bachchan, boycotted by publications in the mid-1970s, convinced that he was using his links with the Congress. to impose restrictions on journalists. Bachchan fought back by imposing his own boycott. A truce was finally called in the early 1980s and Bachchan is now one of the most respected media personalities in Bollywood.

A boycott is usually short-lived because neither party can afford it. Bollywood quarrels and clashes with reporters are often followed by a brief period of media outrage, then to be resolved by the apology of the star. The Ranaut boycott called by the recently formed Entertainment Journalists Guild, in response to his attack on Justin Rao during the event Judgmentall Hai Kya is a bold initiative, but one that can not be implemented without the support of publishers and publishers.

The boycott again revealed the love-hate relationship between movie stars and the media. Journalists' access to the film industry is governed by the apparent influence of the media companies they work for. Since the purpose of advertising a film before its release is to improve its commercial prospects, the demarcation between interviews and advertising material can often be slim.

A reliable way of controlling mischievous or ambitious journalists is to limit their access. Following the advice of their handlers, celebrities only provide interviews to publications and channels generating maximum return on investment, extending Bollywood's power structures beyond the studio and into the room. drafting.

Often serious journalists do not get fooled. alternative than swallowing their pride and ignoring insults. Salman Khan's widely documented disregard for the media is outweighed by his overwhelming popularity with fans. In other cases, one can count on docile journalists who consider themselves as cheerleaders to produce a copy that could have come from the publicist's laptop.

Publicists are always available to prevent interviews from taking the form of inquisitions. But they also limit these interactions to conversations: "You'll have 10 minutes," is a reliable way to set limits to expectations. The cause against unlimited access is understandable, given that the number of Bollywood journalists and critics has increased dramatically in recent years. (At one point, there are a few hundred journalists demanding attention.) Entertainment journalism tends to weaken it: the obsession for Taimur Ali Khan, the gossip about relationships, the schadenfreude on the collapses.

Of course, some journalists, through their reputation and experience, can get around the rules and get relevant news and interviews. But overall, the entertainment media feeds on snippets. In the absence of something more significant, they eat greedily and freely.

Queens and commoners

If the idea behind the media's decision to boycott Ranaut is to send him a message, as well as to other truculent stars, this is a strong idea. Journalists who suffer from the vagaries of Bollywood are those who appear week after week for revelations of trailers and launches of songs that never start on time and bring little news. This serving of meat and potatoes from Bollywood pie is the most sold, but its delivery men are often poorly treated.

The average entertainment reporter of the Kangana Ranaut series probably has the impression that the person who gets front row seats a humorous show intended to become the target of the comedian's cruel attacks on the stage. Journalists who marched for the launch of the song Judgmentall Hai Kya were waiting for the meat and potatoes to serve with the added flavor that Ranaut usually provides. Instead, they received a bitter reminder of the precarious relationship between the stars and those who document them.

This time, Ranaut worsened because of wear. The commoner who is anointed queen is mocked by her courtiers and her offending statements diminish her exploits. The image that Ranaut himself created has been carefully refined by the media. It is ironic, but quite appropriate, that the scene of his last transformation is a press event.