Hyderabad: In 2020, during an interview, Kangana Ranaut, who is running for Lok Sabha elections on a BJP ticket from Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, stirred controversy by labeling Urmila Matondkar as 'a soft porn star'. Recently, amidst her advocating for women's dignity, this old remark resurfaced, highlighting her use of derogatory language in public discourse.
The spark of controversy ignited when an objectionable post, laden with sexual overtones and abuses, surfaced on Congress national spokesperson Supriya Shrinate's Instagram account shortly after Kangana's BJP candidacy announcement for the Mandi Lok Sabha seat. The post featured a scantily-clad image of Kangana Ranaut accompanied by a caption dripping with offense and derogation.
In response, Kangana Ranaut took to her platform, urging restraint in weaponising the struggles of sex workers as a means of insult. She firmly stated, "every woman deserves her dignity," in defiance of the malicious post.
Despite Shrinate's subsequent deletion of the post and claims of hacking, the BJP launched a blistering counterattack, accusing her of perpetuating the circulation of the deleted screenshots.
The controversy didn't stop there. Netizens delved into the archives, unearthing an interview from 2020 where Kangana had aimed similar disparaging remarks at Urmila Matondkar upon her foray into politics. In that interview, Kangana took a jibe at Urmila’s acting prowess and branded her as a "soft porn star," as she questioned her credentials whiel drawing parallels between their political aspirations.
Urmila had entered the political fray as a Congress candidate in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, later joining Shiv Sena in 2020. She retaliated against Kangana’s diatribe. Veteran actor Jaya Bachchan, lambasting Kangana for her disrespectful remarks. The aftermath of Kangana's comments sparked a wave of solidarity from Bollywood personalities. Back then, celebrities like Swara Bhasker, Anubhav Sinha, and Farah Khan Ali, rallied behind Urmila, condemning the Queen actor's remark.
Coming back to the Kangana-Supriya row, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has sent a letter to the Election Commission urging for strong measures to be taken against Congress members. Supriya aside, H S Ahir, the state joint co-ordinator of Kisan Congress also made disrespectful comments directed towards Ranaut.
Read More
