Birthday Special: A look at Kangana Ranaut’s best performances

It’s Kangana Ranaut’s 36th birthday today. She has marked a tremendous journey in Bollywood from making her debut with Anurag Basu's directorial 'Gangster' to being a director and producer. She has been showing her versatility with donning different roles.

With her acting skills, narrative preferences, and fearless personality over the course of an almost two-decade career, Kangana has been winning the hearts of the audience. So, to make this occasion, let’s look back at her best performance.

1.'Gangster'

Kangana Ranaut in her debut movie ‘Gangster’ played the role of a bar dancer who falls in love with a gangster (Shiny Ahuja). The film also stars Emraan Hashmi. Directed by Anurag Basu and produced by Mahesh Bhatt in 2006.

2. 'Fashion'

Kangana demonstrated her acting prowess with ‘Fashion’. Priyanka Chopra played the lead in the movie yet Kangana still managed to draw attention with her outstanding portrayal of a troubled model. She even won her first-ever National Award for Supporting Actress.

3. 'Tanu Weds Manu' franchise

Along with R. Madhavan, the actor unveiled her fun side in Aanand L Rai's "Tanu Weds Manu Returns" (2011). She continued to try to make the audience laugh by coming up with "Tanu Weds Manu Returns" in 2015. In the follow-up, we observe the issues that develop in the marriage of the key actors, Kangana and Madhavan. Kangana also had the opportunity to play two roles in the movie.

4. 'Queen'

Kangana's character in 'Queen' became a source of inspiration for girls who are hesitant to lead independent lives in a male-dominated society. Rani Mehra (Kangana) who decides to go on her honeymoon alone after her fiance Vijay Dhingra (Rajkummar Rao) cancels their wedding just a day before their special day.

5. 'Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi'

Kangana made her filmmaking debut in 2019 with ‘Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi’. Along with Radha Krishna Jagarlamudi, she directed a number of scenes for the historical picture. In the movie, Kangana played the lead role and showcased Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi's bravery. For her performance in the historical drama, she won yet another National Award.

6. 'Pangaa'

Kangana portrayed a retired Kabbadi player who wanted to return to the sport in the 2020 movie 'Pangaa'. Richa Chadha, Neena Gupta, Jassie Gill, and Pankaj Tripathi played the key roles in Ashwiny Iyer Tiwary’s directorial.

7.'Thalaivii'

In order to get into her character deeply, she even put on 20 kilogrammes for a movie. Kangana portrays J. Jayalalithaa, a later former chief minister of Tamil Nadu. Jayalalithaa worked in the Tamil film industry before entering politics.