I am naturally slim, actually thin. So, for years I have been trying to get some curves. I tried eating food that would increase my weight, but I only ended up putting fat around my stomach. So, now I have made peace with my body.
Kangana Ranaut
Money can't buy everything, but it can buy most of it. Because of money, I could give my parents a comfortable life.
My ancestors are Rajputs from Jaipur, a lineage of the royal family.
My father is a businessman, and my mother is a schoolteacher.
Freedom of being alone is intoxicating.
I have been the struggler of the century. Fortunately, everyone loves the underdog.
Imagine: in the medieval ages, there was no evidence of how the history of mankind has been affected by witchcraft. But there is significant factual history of how brutality and sadism of mankind have been displayed in the most obscene manner in the name of witch-hunt.
Modesty is good. But not when it comes at the cost of honesty.
Success is the best revenge. I always feel women should answer back either with their sarcasm or success.
I come from a middle class family, and my parents weren't too supportive of my career choices.
I would never be able to spend all my life in a busy city like Mumbai.
I am extremely proud of my rags-to-riches story. It's fun to be a misfit or an underdog if you acknowledge your gifts and befriend your obstacles.
In metros, girls are very independent, conscious and aware. But in the interiors of our country, where education is not given importance, they continue to be oppressed. But it is important for every woman to acknowledge what she wants from herself rather than going for what people expect from her.
I started from B-grade films, and today I'm the number one actress of this country... whereas other actresses, whom you might call my contemporaries, they have had no growth in whatever platform they were launched... they are still there and have not risen to another platform.
Before I turned vegetarian, I used to often cook seafood or my favourite breakfast of eggs and bacon. Now, I love making pulao or rice with lots of spices and vegetables.
The glorification of sisters, mothers as the selfless Indian women who will do 'agni pariksha' and the one who sees her own betterment only in the betterment of their husbands and fathers, that has to stop. It's very regressive.
I need nothing from my companion. No money, no financial security, no emotional support, nothing. All I want is the freedom to be myself.
I don't find it humiliating when they call me a psychopath or witch.
My parents gave me the easy option that if you're going to go your way, that's the highway. You can expect no funds and no support, which I think was legitimate; that was a fair option.
Initially, I wanted to do films with A-list actors when I was struggling. I was hoping that I could also get that platform where I'm launched with Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan or Aamir Khan... and with them my career could also start, but it didn't happen. And then came 'Queen.'
My parents wanted me to be a doctor. So I took up science, but then realised that my heart was not in it at all. The thought of treating ailing people was very depressing.
I am not comfortable walking the ramp for just any designer. I am particular about who I associate with.
I feel that we, as Indians, have a knack for loving a stereotypical, sobbing, sympathy-seeking personality. I feel that we need to promote quirky, cool and youthful talent. We have to stop propagating the sob-story angle of celebs, where they try to be larger-than-life. That is very outdated. It is so boring that it puts you to sleep.
I am a very proud Hindu. The foundation of my personality is laid on the teachings of Swami Vivekananda or Sanatan Dharm or the Geeta. And if my religious practices or anybody's religious practices is given any kind of sadistic name, it instills fear about other person's religious practices.
I liked the fact that my father had a lot of expectations from my brother. I probably wanted to be that person who he could be proud of.
I think the kind of films and roles I do takes a whole year... I think it is justified. At some point, we have to come to that place where we are equally paid. It is a small step... we are headed to that direction.
My biggest asset is that I know how to learn, and that, I believe, will help me in the long run.
I had no work after 'Gangster' for two years, and my sister Rangoli met with an accident that destroyed her looks. My struggle with my parents combined with the industry not accepting me made me feel alienated.
I have a knack for choosing the wrong people.
Why should Bollywood accept me? I should accept Bollywood. I don't care if Bollywood has accepted me. I don't seek acceptance. I don't need to live up to anybody's expectations.
I don't seek validation outside, not even with the audience. Today they like me, but tomorrow they may hate me. I don't want to be anybody's role model.
Nobody was my support. You have to support yourself, and I think that is the beauty of being a woman. You can handle anything and be ten times better than men.
Even when I was rebelling against my father, the point was to follow my own intuition and instinct.
The thing about Bollywood is that you can't just quit it even if you have little fame. You have to stick around and keep trying.
This man who was my father's age hit me hard on my head when I was 17. I started bleeding. I took out my sandal and hit his head hard, and he started to bleed, too.
Ever since I was a child, I would start crying seeing anyone in pain.
Sometimes films might not work, but you as an actor should keep working. Because no matter how much you panic about how your film didn't work, eventually, when you step out in the real world, there are people who value you as an artist.
Item numbers are not my cup of tea.
Somewhere down the line, I realised that dairy products were giving me acidity, so now I am a vegan.
My man has to be more intelligent than I am, which is difficult to find. He should definitely be more successful than me, which is not so difficult to find. I'd be a fool to expect a better looking man than me, which is impossible to find.
I don't know if it is of any joy to humiliate people. No matter what, whether you're high in life or low in life, humiliation and such kinds of things should just be ignored. I don't derive any pleasure from running people down.
Relationships can be very traumatic. But being in a healthy relationship can be very empowering.
I write poems, I meditate. I don't live up to people's expectations. I don't do the conventional cool things - I know I am the coolest person.
Even after 'Gangster' being a success, I was considered a B-grade actress and was a sidekick, even though I was good at what I did, and was jobless for two years.
Going vegetarian - and then vegan - has calmed me down, and it has also made me physically and emotionally strong. I do crave meat once in a while, but I find that spiritually, non-vegetarian food works against my emotional health.
To expect this larger-than-life, holier-than-thou sort of existence from us is not possible. We as much want to make our own mistake as a man does.
I schooled in Himachal Pradesh. I had taken up science and, initially, wanted to become a doctor. There are few career options for students of science though, so I shifted to Delhi and decided to try theater instead.
In 'Rangoon', I play an action star of the 1940s.
I cannot approach someone; I lack the confidence when it comes to the guy I desire. I'm very good when it comes to matchmaking and hooking others up. But I can't help my own cause.
I know the consequences of my decisions. I've said no to the biggest of brands. So when I say no to something, I know how much business I will lose out on.
