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It’s double celebration time for Kangna, for the pretty gal also turns a year older in a few days. 


When she joined Bollywood, she was all of 17, and was “immature.” At first, the crazy life of an actor dismayed her. “I used to think this is such torture – shooting for multiple hours and working for so long. At times, you’re supposed to begin your day at 5.30–6 am,” she says. Then she thought there was discrimination too. “I would think ‘Why this break for that actor, and why this one for me?’” But things have changed today? “Of course. After spending a decent amount of time in the industry, one becomes more calculative and observant. Today, I feel that if I’ve chosen to do this kind of work, I better live up to it. I understand the business of filmmaking.” 
What else has she observed all these years? “That despite the frenzied pace, one can have fun, lots of fun. Only that fun is unpredictable, you never know when you’re going to laugh – in the middle of shooting, or on the sets or elsewhere,” she says, adding, “I’ve also observed that the image of actors is very bad. People think all actors are dumb. Once I had a discussion with a director, after which he was surprised, and said, ‘Oh! You’re so intelligent.’ And I felt, perhaps, this is not the way they expect an actor to be.” And she has more to say, “Also, actresses are not expected to be involved in all those discussions and debates regarding script, shooting, dialogues, etc. And if an actress does, people are surprised. When I took interest in all of this, I was treated like a man. Usually, it’s only the men who are interested in the behind-the-scene specifics.” And when she was offered Rs 5 crore for Tanvir Khan’s movie, she felt like a man again? “Earlier, if the hero was paid Rs 1 lakh, the female lead would get half the amount. But now, things are changing.
Then what are women interested in, ‘usually’? “I’ve noticed that women are more interested in who they’re working with. I was shocked to know that someone can only be interested in the co-actor, and not the script. Ask them why, and they say, it’s an A-list actor, and it’ll prove beneficial to their career. And I wonder, ‘Are you an actor or a fan? How can you care less about your character?’” But Kangna says she understands this, for, “This is what happens with beautiful women who’re not intelligent. And that’s how even men want them to be. An intelligent woman may pose a threat to their intellect, you see. It is so natural. If I were a man, even I’d marry a beautiful, dumb woman, lest she proves I’m less intelligent!”
Some believe there are no permanent friends in the film industry... “It’s such a terrible thing to say. How can one feel that? If a director offers a role to an actor, is he taking advantage of him? I believe he’s giving him work. But later, when the two can’t be in touch, will the actor say, ‘See, he’s not a friend anymore, for he doesn’t talk otherwise.’ People can’t be in touch always due to lack of time,” Kangna explains.
Before she set out to make it big in cinema, Kangna learnt theatre in Delhi. And coming to Delhi reminds her of those days. “I love Delhi winters. When I used to live here, I saw the pace of life, and it’s not as fast as Mumbai.” One day, her guru suggested she “become a film actor, than a theatre actor, if she wanted a decent life.” Kangna says she asked him, ‘Why not be a theatre artiste and still earn success?’ “He said, ‘That’s how it has been, and is,’” she recalls.