New Delhi:
Exposing the dark underbelly of Bollywood, actor Kangana Ranaut has revealed to NDTV's Barkha Dutt that she was physically abused by an industry insider when she was just 17.
Ms Ranaut, star of films like Queen and Tanu Weds Manu, said she was a newcomer to Bollywood, when a man "who must have been my father's age...he hit me so hard. I fell on my head on the floor. It started to bleed...and I picked up my sandal and hit his head hard and he started to bleed." She went on to say, "I struggled so much that I couldn't believe I had so much strength that either I died or I kill you. And then I went to the cops and lodged an FIR against this man. But that day, I really saw myself as who I always thought I was... I'm actually a born fighter."
When asked how the episode changed her, the 28-year-old said she learnt "There is no free lunch." She also said, "It made me a total bad ass. I do not now even like anyone raising their voice on me. It made me so guarded of my own personal and intimate space that it's amazing how guarded I became - which I love, I absolutely love. And I think after going through that extreme experience at that young age - it just made me understand my own strengths and weaknesses."
The actor was speaking at the launch of Barkha Dutt's new book, This Unquiet Land.
Ms Ranaut, star of films like Queen and Tanu Weds Manu, said she was a newcomer to Bollywood, when a man "who must have been my father's age...he hit me so hard. I fell on my head on the floor. It started to bleed...and I picked up my sandal and hit his head hard and he started to bleed." She went on to say, "I struggled so much that I couldn't believe I had so much strength that either I died or I kill you. And then I went to the cops and lodged an FIR against this man. But that day, I really saw myself as who I always thought I was... I'm actually a born fighter."
When asked how the episode changed her, the 28-year-old said she learnt "There is no free lunch." She also said, "It made me a total bad ass. I do not now even like anyone raising their voice on me. It made me so guarded of my own personal and intimate space that it's amazing how guarded I became - which I love, I absolutely love. And I think after going through that extreme experience at that young age - it just made me understand my own strengths and weaknesses."
The actor was speaking at the launch of Barkha Dutt's new book, This Unquiet Land.
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