A month ago, Kangana Ranaut received the manuscript of Chetan Bhagat’s new novel, One Indian Girl. As she began to read, she liked the modern, urban character and how the book portrayed feminism. After she turned the last page, she called Bhagat up and exclaimed, “Did you really write this? It’s a wonderful book, a must-read! I’m definitely playing the lead whenever you turn the book into a film.”
Speaking to Mirror from New York where he is filming Mohit Suri’s Half Girlfriend, featuring Arjun Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor, and based on his book by the same name, Bhagat recalls his conversation with the Queen star, saying, “Kangana is an icon, one of the finest actresses today. Stories and scripts mean a lot to her. She is known for her take on feminism and honest opinions, and for her to praise my book and want to do the film is a huge compliment. I am really thankful to her for joining me.”
Kangana was going to fly off to the US in the third week of September for Hansal Mehta’s Simran in which she is playing a Gujarati housekeeper. She has been prepping for the character for the last two months but has now decided to postpone the Simran schedule so she can launch Bhagat’s new book on October 1 before she flies off to the US. Bhagat describes his latest book, written from the female protagonist’s point of view, as both powerful and controversial, much like himself.
“There were several issues that Kangana related to, including the struggles of a contempo rary woman, who is forced to compromise for her career,” Bhagat reveals. One Indian Girl is the story of an intelligent, suc cessful girl who struggles to find love. It questions society which judges women achievers.
It asks why when it comes to love; being intelligent and successful is often a drawback for women. Kangana who will be seen next in Vishal Bhardwaj’s world-war romance, Rangoon, hopes to start filming Bhagat’s next book adaptation towards the end of 2017.
