Why is Karan Johar shaming a woman: Kangana Ranaut spews venom over KJo's 'victim card' comment

Few days ago, Bollywood's celebrated director, Karan Johar hinted that Kangana Ranaut might not have understood the meaning of the word 'nepotism,' and that he was fed up of her playing the 'victim card.' Also, if she has so many issues with the way Bollywood functions, then she should think about quitting it. 

This attack from KJo was in response to Kangana's comments on his TV show Koffee With Karan, where she called him a "snooty flag-bearer of nepotism" and that he was running a "movie mafia". Now Kangs has spoken again, in an interview with Mumbai Mirror and as usual, she minces no words.

"I can't speak for Karan Johar's understanding of nepotism. If he thinks that it is restricted to nephews, daughters and cousins, I have nothing to say. But, to say that he chose not to give me work is to mock an artiste. As importantly, his memory appears to be poor because we worked together in a movie (Ungli), which was produced by him. And quickly realised our sensibilities did not match," she said.

The Bollywood actress, who won a National Award for Queen, added that she was at a loss to understand how Johar gave her a platform by inviting her to be on his show. "I've been on several platforms before with several global icons. To say he helped me voice my opinions is to discredit me as an artiste and a public personality.And, I think, it should be added here that I was invited to be a part of the show in its fifth season. His team requested my team for months for my dates," she added.

Kangana said that the point that she wanted to make was Johar was shaming a woman for being a woman. "What is this about the 'woman card' and the 'victim card'? This kind of talk is demeaning to all women, particularly the vulnerable because they are the ones who really need to use them. The 'woman card' might not help you become a Wimbledon champ, or win you Olympic medals, or bag National awards. It might not even land you a job, but it can get a pregnant woman who feels her water is about to break a 'ladies' seat on a crowded bus. It can be used as a cry for help when you sense a threat. The same goes for the 'victim card', which women like my sister, Rangoli, who is a victim of an acid attack, can use while fighting for justice in court," she said.

Kanagana said that she uses every card possible. At the workplace, it's the badass card to fight cutthroat competition, while it is the love card while spending time with her loved ones. "When fighting the world, it's the dignity card, and for a seat in a bus, it's the woman card. What is important to understand is that we are not fighting people, we are fighting a mentality. I am not fighting Karan Johar, I am fighting male chauvinism," she said.

Reminding Johar that he had recently become the father of twins - one of whom was a girl, Kangana said he should provide her with all these cards. "The 'woman card' and the 'victim card', as also the 'self-made-independent-woman card', and the 'badass card' that I flashed on his show. We will use whatever we need to ensure no one rocks our boat," she said.

The actress also said that she was surprised at the "graciousness" that Johar displayed in choosing to not edit the jousty bits on the show. "While I'd have blacklisted the channel if something like that had happened, let's also remember that a channel wants TRPs, and he is just a paid host," she added.

The actress also told the filmmaker that the Indian film industry was not a small studio given to him by his father. "The industry belongs to every Indian and is highly recommended for outsiders like me whose parents were too poor to give me a formal training. I learnt on the job and got paid for it, using the money to educate myself in New York. He is nobody to tell me to leave it. I'm definitely not going anywhere, Mr Johar," said Kangana.