What does the Kangana Ranaut and Karan Johar controversy teach us?

Be bold for change, Kangana Ranaut shows how it's done

What happens when two powerful people in their own right  - one a director and one an outsider – meet on the famed coffee couch – controversy, of course.

Loud deafening shots were fired when Kangana Ranaut called Karan Johar, “the flag-bearer of nepotism” on his show, and Johar took it sportingly.

All was well, or so it seemed.

Round 2:
However, the second round of shots was fired by Johar himself during the London School of Economics in conversation with Anupama Chopra, and on that platform he  said that was    “fed up of Ranaut playing the victim card”.

Round 3:
Post that, Kangana Ranaut gave an interview with the Mumbai Mirror that she wasn’t playing the victim card, but the “bad ass card.” She also pointed out that she had no issues with Johar himself, but it was his chauvinism that she was pointing at in the same interview.  “She said, ‘What is pertinent here is: why is Karan Johar trying to shame a woman for being a woman? What is this about the 'woman card' and the 'victim card'? This kind of talk is demeaning to all women, particularly the vulnerable because they are the ones who really need to use them." 

With women who speak their mind, it is most often met with defiance and hostility.  Conveniently, she is labelled as emotional or unsteady. We’re at a juncture that when we are making strides in our own way and in our respective fields, but we have to constantly defend and tackle obstacles that come our way – big or small. 

Women like Ranaut teach us a valuable lesson – to stay firm and strong – in the face of adversity – no matter who it is.

In keeping with the International Women’s Day theme: Be Bold For Change, Asianet Newsable’s is all about celebrating these women.