Mandi BJP candidate Kangana Ranaut’s old video calling actress Urmila Matondkar ‘soft porn star’ comes back to haunt her
TNR Desk
Hours after Congress leader Supriya Shrinate clarified an objectionable post attributed to her Instagram handle, criticism ensued towards Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut, who has been declared the BJP candidate from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh, over an old TV interview in which she is hearing calling actress Urmila Matondkar a “soft porn star”.
Srinivas BV, president of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC), took to social media to share the old video of Ranaut’s disparaging comments about Matondkar. He condemned the remarks and questioned Ranaut’s silence on the issue while commending Shrinate’s swift response to rectify the situation.
In the resurfaced video, Ranaut can be heard making derogatory remarks about Matondkar’s career, stating, “Urmila Matondkar, she is a soft porn star… she is not known for her acting… what is she known for, for doing soft porn, right? If she can get the ticket (for a political party), why won’t I get the ticket?”
The controversy between Ranaut and Matondkar had stemmed from the latter’s criticism of Ranaut’s disparaging remarks against veteran actor Jaya Bachchan. Matondkar had defended Bachchan’s contributions to the film industry and questioned Ranaut’s behaviour. Matondkar, who made a brief foray into politics with the Congress in 2019 but later joined the Shiv Sena, has been vocal about societal issues and women’s rights.
Following objections from the BJP and Kangana, Supriya deleted the controversial post and issued a clarification, attributing the incident to unauthorised access to her account. She emphasised her commitment to respectful discourse and disapproved of the offensive content.
After Supriya’s post, Kangana shared the screenshot and wrote on X, “Dear Supriya ji, as an artiste, I have played the roles of all kinds of women in the last 20 years of my career. From an innocent girl in ‘Queen’ to a detective in ‘Dhaakad’, from a goddess in ‘Manikarnika’ to a demon in ‘Chandramukhi’.
From a prostitute in ‘Rajjo’ to a revolutionary leader in ‘Thalaivi’. We must free our daughters from the shackles of prejudices. We must rise above being curious about female body parts. Also, we must avoid using such abusive words about the challenging lives or circumstances of sex workers. Every woman is entitled to her dignity….”
