Bollywood luminary Kangana Ranaut, now deeply involved in politics, faced a resurgence of criticism for her past comments targeting actress Urmila Matondkar. In a 2020 incident, Ranaut had labeled Matondkar as a ‘soft porn star,’ mocking her transition into politics. The issue came to light again after Ranaut engaged in a heated exchange with Congress spokesperson Surpriya Shrinate on Instagram, reviving discussions around slut-shaming.
Speaking at the 2024 Times Now Summit, Kangana Ranaut defended her earlier remark, asserting that the term ‘soft porn star’ was not inherently offensive but rather socially unpalatable.
She controversially claimed,
”Humare desh mein jitna pornstar ko respect milta hai, puchiye Sunny Leone see, utna respect poore world mein kisiko nahi mil sakta”.
Kangana continued to elaborate on her stance, questioning societal norms regarding the differential treatment of pornstars and prostitutes. Despite ongoing backlash, she emphasized her adherence to a certain cinematic ethos, asserting her avoidance of item numbers and maintaining her identity as a balanced cinema artist.
”I personally believe that I belong to that balanced cinema artist tribe. I have never done item numbers; I have always maintained that.”
”In fact, I am saying why being a pornstar is more socially acceptable than being a prostitute? Why do we have this kind of mindset for prostitutes whereas we accept pornstars socially? Is it because they have more money? Because they have glamour? We don’t treat prostitutes the same as pornstars,” Kangana Ranaut stated, as quoted by ETimes.
While queen actress’s arguments might hold merit in different contexts, her past remarks about Urmila Matondkar drew attention for their derogatory nature.
In a 2020 interview with Times Now, she had disparaged her professional achievements, implying her own superiority. This act of demeaning another woman’s career choice was evident and drew widespread condemnation.
”One doesn’t have to be a genius to figure that for me it is not very difficult to get a ticket. Urmila is a soft porn star. She is not known for her acting for sure, what is she known for? For doing soft porn right. If she could get a ticket, why wouldn’t I get a ticket?”
Recently, Ranaut found herself on the receiving end of slut-shaming when Surpriya Shrinate, a Congress spokesperson, shared and later deleted a disparaging post about her on Instagram. Reacting to this, Ranaut took to Twitter, advocating for the dignity of all women and condemning the use of sex work as an insult or slur.
भक्तों की दीदी गीता ज्ञान देती हुई। pic.twitter.com/rXc5wddFF9
— I.N.D.I.A.N NEWS (@RatanChaurasiy8) March 26, 2024
Dear Supriya ji
In the last 20 years of my career as an artist I have played all kinds of women. From a naive girl in Queen to a seductive spy in Dhaakad, from a goddess in Manikarnika to a demon in Chandramukhi, from a prostitute in Rajjo to a revolutionary leader in Thalaivii.… pic.twitter.com/GJbhJTQAzW— Kangana Ranaut (Modi Ka Parivar) (@KanganaTeam) March 25, 2024
The episode reignited discussions surrounding Ranaut’s previous comments, prompting reflection on the complexities of gender politics and societal attitudes towards women in the public eye.