Kangna Amardeep Ranaut (pronounced [kəŋɡənaː raːɳoːʈʰ]; born 23 March 1986) is an Indian actress, filmmaker, and politician serving as a Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Mandi since June 2024.

The opinions she has voiced, aligning with right-wing ideologies and supporting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), along with frequent clashes in her personal and professional relationships, have sparked controversy.

[7][23] The following year, an agent took her to the office of the producer Mahesh Bhatt, where she interacted with the director Anurag Basu and auditioned for the lead role in the romantic thriller Gangster: A Love Story.

[23] She was cast in the central role of Simran, an alcoholic woman caught in a romantic triangle between a notorious gangster (Shiney Ahuja) and a sympathetic friend (Emraan Hashmi).

[29] Ranaut's next role was in the Mohit Suri-directed drama Woh Lamhe... (2006), a semi-biographical film based on the schizophrenic actress Parveen Babi and her relationship with the director Mahesh Bhatt.

[39] In a more positive review, Raja Sen wrote that Ranaut "is refreshing [...] and manages to herd her emotions well, playing a complex role but hardly ever overreaching", but criticised her delivery of English lines.

[26] Set against the backdrop of the Indian fashion industry, the film features Ranaut as Shonali Gujral, a substance abusing supermodel struggling to cope with her foundering career.

Because the media speculated that her role was based on the former model Geetanjali Nagpal (which Ranaut denied),[43] the Delhi Commission for Women ordered a stay on the film's release, approving it only after a script narration.

[26][48] Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama praised her confident portrayal of the character,[49] and Nikhat Kazmi added that she "does an exquisite metamorphosis from a wispy, high-strung, nervous child-woman to a stunning ramp diva.

[56][57] Kaveree Bamzai of India Today argued that Ranaut had "never looked lovelier and been more playful", and Mid-Day's Sarita Tanwar found her "totally convincing" in the part.

[58][59] After playing a television reporter in the thriller Knock Out (2010), Ranaut actively looked for a comedy and found the role in Anees Bazmee's No Problem (2010), but both films failed to propel her career forward.

[62][63] She played Tanuja "Tanu" Trivedi, a foul-mouthed, free-spirited and rebellious university student from Kanpur who enters an arranged marriage with Manu (Madhavan), a London-based Indian doctor.

[27] The director Sanjay Gupta cast Ranaut in a brief role opposite John Abraham in the crime thriller Shootout at Wadala (2013) due to her ability to stand out in a predominantly male-centric film.

[73] The Daily News and Analysis' Tushar Joshi wrote that her role was written "to provide the sex quotient" and critic Vinayak Chakravorty opined that she "does not get much scope [...] beyond the steamy lovemaking grind".

[83] In 2014, Ranaut reinforced her status as a leading actress of Hindi cinema when she featured in the coming-of-age dramedy Queen; she also co-wrote the dialogues with Anvita Dutt Guptan.

[101] In preparation for the latter role, she interacted with students of the University of Delhi in disguise; in addition, she attended workshops to learn the Haryanvi language and trained in the sport of triple jump.

[111] After a year-long absence from the screen, Ranaut starred as Julia, a 1940s heroine and stunt-woman modelled on the actress Fearless Nadia in Vishal Bhardwaj's romance Rangoon (2017).

[117] The same year, Hansal Mehta's crime comedy Simran saw her in the role of a Gujarati immigrant in the United States who perpetrates a series of bank robberies to cover her debts.

[129] The film opened to moderate mainstream success and mostly positive reviews,[130][131] with primary emphasis placed on Ranaut's forceful presence in the role of the eponymous heroine.

[135] Shubhra Gupta considered her to be "terrific" in the part and found "connections between what's happening on screen and Ranaut's off-screen seemingly off-kilter joustings which routinely make so much news of the wrong kind.

[142] Anupama Chopra of Film Companion noted the sensitivity in her performance, and Rachel Saltz of The New York Times commented: "Ranaut makes Jaya credible and specific; she’s not an every woman or every mom or every athlete.

"[143] In 2020, Ranaut founded her production company, Manikarnika Films, and the next year, appeared in the biopic Thalaivii (2021), in which she and Arvind Swamy played the actor-turned-politicians J. Jayalalithaa and M. G. Ramachandran, respectively.

[189][190] On 6 June 2024, Ranaut was slapped by a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) constable at Chandigarh Airport in response to comments she had made on farmers protesting against a set of laws.

[191][192] The same year, Ranaut continued to make further remarks regarding the Farmers Protest and the Farm Laws, which drew criticism, leading the BJP to reprimand her and distance itself from her statements.

"[217] Noted for paving her way to stardom without prior connections in the film industry, she was described by Kaveree Bamzai as "a permanent outsider who can play the game better than most insiders".

[219] She has since continued to advocate against nepotism in the industry,[220][179] more so after the death of Sushant Singh Rajput, when she accused influential film professionals of having "systematically sabotaged" his career.

[172][221] Analysing Ranaut's career, the journalist Parmita Uniyal, in 2014, noted that she "loves to challenge herself with tricky roles and manages to add a different dimension to her character every time.

[224][225] According to BBC News' Shailaja Bajpai, Ranaut is an "outstanding performer" and a natural actress who has played "strong, unusual women" which have helped her carve a "special niche for herself".

[218][235][236] Analysing her off-screen persona, Hindustan Times published that she was initially written off by Indian journalists due to her "funny accent" and the negative publicity generated by her troubled relationships; however, her defining fashion choices and her unconventional film roles eventually established her as a star.

[243] The journalist Jagmeeta Thind Joy credits the actress for her "quirky, almost non-Bollywood take on personal style", adding that she "likes to shock and awe with her choices".