Kangana Ranaut says when female actors take charge as producers, people find it very new

Kangana Ranaut says turning producer has been a very natural progression for the actor. The first project under her new banner Manikarnika Films, Tiku Weds Sheru, will release this Friday on June 23 on Prime Video India. (Also Read: Kangana Ranaut reveals Irrfan Khan and herself were original leads of Tiku Weds Sheru)

While Kangana has already turned director with Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi, that was produced by Zee Studios, Tiku Weds Sheru marks the first time she’s officially producing. The romantic comedy is directed by Sai Kabir, who previously collaborated with Kangana on Revolver Rani (2014).

Kangana on turning producer

“Our heroes like Shah Rukh, Ajay, Akshay, they all are very involved as producers in the films they’re acting in. But when a woman does it, people feel it’s very new. My directors have always asked me to collaborate with them. They look forward to my opinion, because obviously I choose to work with only the people who’re collaborative,” Kangana said in an interview to Punjab Kesari.

On dividing creative duties

“I’ve done three drafts of Tiku Weds Sheru myself. Sai has done five drafts. Even when we were collaborating on the music, I’d write three lines and he’d write three. When we went on floors, of course he’s a very equipped director since he’s done Revolver Rani in the past, but since I’ve been an actor on this film, I’d already conceptualised some sceens. And since Avneet is a new actor, I thought she won’t be able to do the very emotionally layered scenes. And as a man, Sai won’t be able to guide her in the best way. So that’s when I came on set and helped her out,” Kangana said in the same interview.

Past controversies

Kangana has often been accused of interfering in the films she’s acting in. The most infamous instance is of her replacing director Krish on Manikarnika, a biopic of Rani Lakshmibai, where she played the titular role. She was also credited with ‘Additional Story, Screenplay and Dialogues’ for Hansal Mehta’s 2017 directorial Simran, that original writer Apurva Asrani objected to.

Upcoming directorial

Kangana will be seen directing and producing Emergency, a period political drama based on the 1975 Emergency imposed by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. While she will also essay the titular role, the ensemble cast also consists of Anupam Kher, Satish Kaushik, Shreyas Talpade and Mahima Chaudhary among others.

Tiku Weds Sheru

The film based on the love story of a Mumbai junior artist and a small-town aspiring actor originally starred Kangana and Irrfan Khan in the lead roles. Once the project got stalled eight years ago and was revived by Kangana in 2020, she signed Nawazuddin Siddiqui and newcomer Avneet Kaur as the leads.