Entering ‘toxic’ Bollywood, Kangana Ranaut believes, is like conquering the Great Wall of China: ‘A place devoid of affection’

In comparison to the Tamil film business, Kangana Ranaut has claimed that the Hindi film industry is “toxic” and lacks “empathy.” Kangana will make her South Indian debut in the J Jayalalithaa biopic Thalaivii, which will be released in theatres on Friday.

She acknowledged in an interview that breaking into Bollywood is like conquering the Great Wall of China, and that she has a “very shallow” understanding of the regional film industries because she is still new to south India.

“What is particularly remarkable about regional film is that at least they find some common ground,” she remarked in a YouTube interview with Tried & Refused Productions. They’re chameleons, and that’s something they understand… Because we’ve all moved to Mumbai, there’s a lot of variety in Hindi cinema, but there’s always a little of friction… Everyone wants to bring everyone down, but this isn’t going to help at all. It’s become such a poisonous environment that nobody is pleased for anybody else, and we can’t seem to find a common ground with which we can identify.”

She believes that establishing common ground is critical in order to avoid becoming engrossed in trivial human emotions. “You can only image how poisonous an environment where there is no love, no empathy, no feeling of camaraderie, no sense of compassion is going to be,” she continued. Whereas regional cinema is rising in popularity, we’re looking for a location (in the business) where people are so friendly to one another. I hope it stays that way, and that too many visitors don’t damage it.”

Kangana said that there was no formal protocol in place when she first entered Bollywood. “There were no casting agencies, no OTTs to launch stars, it was a really difficult time,” she claimed, adding that she was “desperate” and in a “do-or-die” scenario, and that she had no option but to battle her way through “the Wall of China of the film business” after having “closed all doors.”