“Are you tired, because you are ‘running’ in my mind”, asks a ‘flirty’ Kangana Ranaut to a flummoxed 'firang' guy at a cocktail bar in her latest maverick movie ‘Simran’, directed by National Award winner Hansal Mehta. “Boyfriend honaa koi character flaw thodi hai, ladke pattaana toh talent hota hai’” wisecracks her ‘kleptomaniac’, divorcee-who-loves-gambling character which steals the show as she flaunts her brazen, bohemian demeanor. A genre which audiences had relished in Ranaut’s earlier movie ‘Queen’.
“Originally, my Atlanta-based NRI character ‘Simran’ was supposed to be a Punjabi kudi. But director Hansal being a Gujarati felt that his comfort zone would be optimum, with me playing a Gujju. It’s an engaging, honest journey of a free-spirited girl who slips, when she makes mistakes, but finds her ground again. Because she is indefatigable and never gives up,” reveals ‘style-icon’ Kangana who also discloses that she was fortunate enough to survive in a surreal mishap while traveling in the US.
She recalls with a traumatic shudder, “Our car which was being driven at a high-speed was cutting across lanes, as the driver fell asleep, causing the car to collide with the side-walk.” Incidentally, ‘Simran’ is also known as ‘Praful Patel’ which is a male gender name. “That because her screen-father desired a son and when a daughter is born, she is still referred to as ‘Praful’, and she in turn does whatever a guy is supposed to do,” justifies Hansal.