‘Babbar Sherni’ AKA Kangana Ranaut, A Phenomenon on Social Media
Decoding how Kangana Ranaut uses social media to share her opinions.
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You may love her, you may hate her…but you can’t ignore her. Such is Kangana Ranaut. Back in 2017, speaking to Rajat Sharma on his popular show Aap Ki Adalat, Kangana had said, “I am not on social media because too many people talk on social media and everyone talks over the other person. I get confused and nervous. How can you talk to 2 crore people at once?”
Cut to - 2020.
Kangana on social media has become a phenomenon. In August 2020, she joined Twitter. When she posts, people notice, for good or bad. The actor, who has recently been granted Y plus security by the government (the first actor to get one), goes on Twitter every hour or so to share her views. When Sushant Singh Rajput allegedly died by suicide, Ranaut took to social media to talk about how the actor was "sidelined" by the Bollywood industry. She also grabbed the opportunity to talk about how she felt “targeted” on various occasions.
Recently, the actor tweeted saying her account was temporarily restricted following her comments on the controversial Amazon Prime series Taandav. In a now-deleted tweet, Ranaut had reportedly referred to the team of Tandav and wrote that it was “time to take their heads off”.
From words to clothes, what is Kangana Ranaut's social media game all about?
Kangana And The 'I, Me, Myself' Issue
Anything Kangana chooses to tweet about, she has an element of "her" attached to it. It's almost as if she views everything through her spectacle and the world beyond that doesn't matter. All those who choose to conform and stand by her side MUST view things from her perspective or you're simply a "librus" (the word she uses to describe her critics).
If she has an agenda against the so-called "movie mafia", she will go all out, like a broken record to tweet the same thing till you believe that's the reality. For example, on Sushant Singh Rajput's 35th birth anniversary on 21 January, Kangana didn't just put up a post appreciating the actor he was. She also wrote about how SHE "assumed he was strong enough to handle movie mafia torture."
She keeps herself on a pedestal and that's all that matters. For most of her 3 million Twitter followers, Kangana is the "Jhansi Ki Rani" who fights for all things 'evil' - drug rackets, movie mafia, anti nationals.
Case in point...
And if she notices you on social media, and you're one the of the "librus", she'll simply block you. Well honestly, someone needs to get in touch with Twitter to see how many have 'blocked' the Judgemental Hai Kya actor. Can I dare bet that count would be higher?
Kangana Has to Have the 'Last Word'
A look at Kangana's Twitter is triggering enough for someone who believes in peace and secularism. If painting everyone with a single brush had an award, Kangana would receive it every year without fail.
When Kangana confused a protester at the farmers' protest with Bilkis Dadi of Shaheen Bagh fame, it irked many. Diljit Dosanjh corrected Ranaut. But how can anyone dare correct her?
And Kangana got down to being Kangana and went all out with personal attacks. She wrote, “Ooo Karan Johar ke paltu, jo dadi Saheen Baag mein apni citizenship keliye protest kar rahi thi wohi Bilkis Bano dadi ji Farmers ke MSP ke liye bhi protest karti hue dikhi." (Oh Karan Johar’s pet. The dadi who was protesting at Shaheen Bagh for citizenship, that same Bilkis Bano dadi ji was also seen protesting for farmers.)
Diljit had the best response waiting for Kangana. He wrote, “Tuneh Jitne Logon Ke Saath Film Ki Tu Un Sab Ki Paaltu Hai...? Fer To List Lambi Ho Jaegi Maalko Ki..? Eh Bollywood Wale Ni PUNJAB Wale aa .. Hikk Te Vajj Sadey. Jhooth bol kar logo ko badhkana aur emotions se khailna woh toh aap achey se janti ho (Are you a pet of whoever you have worked with? The list will be long then. This isn’t Bollywood, this is Punjab. You know how to play with people’s emotions)
Kanganagenda
The Diljit episode is just one example of how she chooses to get personal in her jibes at people, often conjuring details about them or their professional endeavours. Even in the case of Taapsee Pannu, Kangana had gone on to say how Pannu tries to imitate her. Kangana has repeatedly commented on Pannu's "naturally curly" hair.
Kangana's sister, Rangoli Chandel wrote, "Kuch log Kangana ko copy kar ke he apni dukaan chalate hain, magar pls note, they never acknowledge her not even a mention of her name in praising the trailer, last I heard Taapsee ji said Kangana needs a double filter and Tapsee ji you need to stop being a sasti copy."
In one of her agendas, the actor had blatantly made mental health, and the conversation around it, a joke. On one hand she urges people to watch her film Judgemental Hai Kya on Mental Health Day and on the other hand she apparently took digs at actors like Deepika Padukone for running "depression ki dukan".
But it isn't just about the words she uses on social media. The actor knows how to nail the look for any public outing or when she chooses to talk to those follow her, with one of those monologue videos she does.
Kangana's Love for White
White is pure, it's calm and it's a whitewash.
Politicians, irrespective of which party they belong to, just agree that a white saree or a white kurta is what's the most important when you wish to climb up in the eyes of the layperson. And Kangana knows it well.
With her modern twist of a spaghetti blouse (she's from the world of glamour after all), she glides in the air with her shades of white.
Recently, when Kangana Ranaut was asked to visit the Bandra police station, she knew she was making a statement as she waved at the media as the Royals do. In the midst of her Y plus security, she stood there in pure white like she's untouched and nothing in the world will make her forehead crease - whether it's a police case or a hearing in the High Court.
The same day she took to social media as she spoke about being "targeted and mentally harassed". She ended by saying, "We will have to go down the road of enslavement if nationalist voices are suppressed."
On 9 September, when Kangana Ranaut returned to Mumbai from Manali after BMC threatened to demolish her office and house in Bandra's Pali Hill, she sauntered in and out of the aircraft as a flock of media followed her everywhere she went. Again, going about in an off white saree, she stood with her neck high and unflinching attitude.
Kangana Knows Her Audience Like No One Else Does
When Kangana sits in her 'Your Highness' chair she knows who she's addressing. On 19 December, she spoke about the ongoing farmer' protests in and around Delhi.
She said, "It is clear that the movement (farmers protest) is politically motivated and somewhere even terrorists had also started participating in it. I have lived in Punjab, did my schooling and grew up there and I know that 99.9 percent of people don’t want Khalistan, or a piece of the nation. The nation is united from Arunachal Pradesh to Maharashtra, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, every part is theirs. They don’t want another part, they all are patriots.”
As she continued to say how she understands Punjabi sentiment, she also wore a phulkari dupatta, dressed in the most Punjabi attire ever gifted by her "Jalandhar wali chachi".
Ranaut sure knows how to leave an impression with her outfits.
A day later, she posted this picture (below)...just to remind her audience she's still an actor and a girl next door who doesn't shy away from posting selfies even as she takes jibes at Priyanka Chopra, Diljit Dosanjh on Twitter for the same farmers' protest.
Ranaut's sure come a along way when it comes to social media. From denouncing the medium's benefits to using it aggressively to share what she thinks - right or wrong, that's for you to judge.
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