Digging up old graves

While Kangana’s interview with Rajeev Masand has definitely got tongues wagging, one can’t help wonder about the suspect timing of the interview. With just a couple of weeks left for the release of Simran, Kangana could definitely use the spotlight on her film. And with good reason. With so many high profile films releasing during the course of the month, Kangana’s first movie as a writer could use some eyeballs.

Now, while the actress has never shied away from courting controversy, her tirade against her ‘silly ex’ Hrithik Roshan has appeared bang in the middle of Simran’s promotions. She appeared on a talk show, raking up an old controversy, where Hrithik and his Krissh co-star went on a mudslinging trip against each other, over an alleged affair.

While the diva claimed over and over during the course of the interview that she was only clarifying all doubts and clearing up the matter with her statements, she had no new light to shed on the controversy.

Scoffs a senior trade analyst, on condition of anonymity, “Kangana always has been trying to piggyback on her fallout with Hrithik and Karan Johar. She did that during Rangoon too with the nepotism controversy, and just look at what happened. She is doing this right before the release of Simran. Let us be assured that this will not help the film. What helps any film is controversy about the content and the film industry has lost its biggest PR in the form of Pahlaj Nihalani who was sacked as the CBFC chief.”

Indeed, if one were to look at the box office numbers, controversy definitely did not help Kangana any for Rangoon, which disappointed the masses and critics alike.

However, actors have been known to try and speak about personal issues or air out their dirty laundry right before the release of their films. Just take Amitabh Bachchan’s open letter to his granddaughter, which the veteran actor wrote just before the release of Pink, or the very public spats between Katrina Kaif and Ranbir Kapoor in the run-up to Jagga Jasoos. Unfortunately, almost all of these stunts have backfired spectacularly, and have done little to help the movies.

During the course of the show, Kangana reiterated that she was in a consensual affair with Hrithik — which he has never acknowledged. The actress has even demanded a public apology from the actor and his father, Rakesh Roshan.

While it is likely that the actress is dredging up old matters just to place the spotlight on herself and her film, her own history with controversies goes to show that it probably won’t help matters much.

Kangana has always been open to trying such means to increase the buzz around her film, explains a source in the know. “Kangana comes from the Mahesh Bhatt school of filmmaking. Bhatt sahab always advises his cast and crew to speak about what agenda the film carries and what answers they need to give, rather than merely reply to what questions are asked. That ensures that the agenda of promoting the film works,” the source says.

No matter the agenda, there is little chance for success with these plans though.

Trade Analyst Taran Adarsh claims that the audience is now too smart to fall for such tricks. “Ultimately a film can now only depend on content. No matter how much you stir up controversy, the most it can do is put it in the spotlight momentarily. It can’t help you pull through the first weekend of collection. The only thing that can help you is quality,” he asserts.

The actress is on solid ground legally, though. While Kangana’s own lawyer, Rizwan Siddiquee refused to comment, senior lawyer Mrunalini Deshmukh said that the actress was well within her rights to talk about the matter if she wanted to. “It would be illegal for Kangana to speak about the case if it was currently subjudice. However, so far, there have only been mutual police complaints registered from both quarters. Nothing has been taken to court yet. Also, while it is true that Hrithik could sue Kangana on grounds of defamation for whatever she has said, she could turn right back around and sue him for something he had said at some point against her,” she concludes, with a sigh.

— With inputs from Sanskriti Media