Kangana Ranaut crosses the line

Kangana Ranaut has once again waded into another controversy. At the press meet of a song launch event from her upcoming movie Judgemental Hai Kya, the actress verbally bashed a journalist even before he could attempt to ask a question to her. In a widely-circulated video which has shocked and angered many, the Queen actress can be seen accusing the journalist of leading a smear campaign against her as he reviewed her last outing Manikarnika negatively.

Needless needling!
A source present at the meet confirms that the actress said to the journalist in question, “Justin, tum toh humare dushman ban gaye ho yaar….badi gandi batein likhte ho. Tum kitna ganda sochte ho! Tum itni gandi soch rakhte ho (Justin, you have turned into my enemy. You write such bad stuff about me. How can you even think of writing such bad stuff?)” Further, Kangana said to the entertainment journalist from PTI, “You are bashing my film Manikarnika. Have I made a mistake in making that film? You are calling me a jingoistic woman who is making a film on nationalism. Is it a mistake to make such a film?”
The incident, which has irked the media fraternity and rational viewers, can perhaps be best expressed by the reaction of the journalist in question, who retorted to her, saying, “This is not the right way to intimidate a journalist just because you are at such a powerful position.”  

Tiresome talk
The actress and her sister Rangoli Chandel have constantly been mired in controversies for making abrupt accusations on other celebrities via the latter’s Twitter feed. But this time, the buttons were pushed when she actually questioned the journalist about the ethics of his job. Says a source from the industry, “As an actress, Kangana has to be open to both praise and criticism. Why does she have to take all criticism seriously? She is a fine actress and needs to let her action do the talking, not her tongue. Also, she should ask Rangoli to shut up. Enough of being her mouthpiece.”

Mouthpiece or motormouth?
Meanwhile, Rangoli, who has earned a notorious reputation for her baseless accusations, has time and again, invited the ire of people from the entertainment industry. Most recently, she went on to support the controversial movie Kabir Singh, saying Gully Boy is more offensive than the former. She has also constantly trolled Alia Bhatt, even making snarky comments about her mother Soni Razdan and her relationship with Ranbir Kapoor. This time, she used her trusted handle to rain abuses at the journalist, calling him ‘cheap’ and ‘double-faced’ among other unprintable names.

Psychologists’ take
According to psychologists, this kind of behaviour leads to using attack as a form of defense. Dr Kersi Chavda, former President of Bombay Psychiatrist Society, says, “It’s absolutely difficult for us to find out what’s actually happening because it’s a conjecture. But perhaps attacking somebody is the best way of defending yourself. It becomes a strategy for diverting people’s attention.”

The use of social media as a platform also helps. “Social media allows you to do it without confronting the person, or talking face to face, anytime, anywhere. This sort of personality is called an avoidant personality, where people are not able to have good confrontational skills, and they resort to anonymity or unreachability,” says psychiatrist Dr Alpes Panchal.

The media stand
As far as the incident goes, a source close to the development suggests that now, the forces of the movie should be at a stage of damage control. “Kangana has crossed the line this time and a few senior media people are planning to meet Ekta Kapoor and will ask Kangana to apologise because this is no way to behave. The media will stand united this time around.”