She won the Mandi seat by over 74,000 votes against her Congress rival, Vikramaditya Singh.
Kangana Ranaut, who recently became the new MP for Himachal Pradesh's Mandi, said that working in films is much easier than being in politics. In an interview with The Himachali Podcast, the actor-turned-politician revealed that even though she joined the BJP in March this year, she had received several offers to join politics over the years.
On being asked why she joined the BJP, the actor said that she felt like it was the right time to do so, even though she had received multiple offers over the years. She said she did not have to pursue those offers unless she wanted to.
“My great grandfather Sarju Singh Ranaut was an MLA. So these offers were never too far away from my family. I was offered to join politics right after my debut film Gangster. My father and sister have also received similar offers over the years. This is not the first time I was approached to join politics. If I wasn't interested in this, I didn't really have to go through so much trouble," she said.
On balancing films and her political career, the Mandi MP said that the life of a politician was much "harsher" than her life as a movie star.
"It's a harsh life, not like films. As a film actor, you go to sets and premieres, you are relaxed. We (actors) live a soft life. So, it took a long time for me to come to terms with this life. This is a harsh life, just like doctors, where only troubled people come to see you. When you go to watch a film, you are very relaxed. But, politics is not like that," she said, adding that she set out on this path after receiving guidance from her guru, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev.
"My guru said if you do what you love you are intelligent but if you do what is needed, you will become a genius," she said, referring to her switch to politics.
Ms Ranaut won the Mandi Lok Sabha seat by over 74,000 votes against her Congress rival, Vikramaditya Singh, the son of party stalwart Virbhadra Singh. Recently, she courted controversy after she was allegedly slapped by a CISF officer at the Chandigarh airport, a day after she won the elections. The officer said her actions were triggered by her past comments that "disrespected farmers".