Kangana Ranaut explains why she refused to sign Shabana Azmi's petition in support of Deepika Padukone
Kangana Deepika
Kangana said she supported Deepika Padukone in the Padmavati row
Few days back, Shabana Azmi sent a signed a petition to PM asking him to take strict action against those who have issued death threats to Deepika Padukone. The letter was reportedly signed by other prominent actresses including Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Vidya Balan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Anushka Sharma and Azmi herself.
Interestingly, Kangana Ranaut was also approached to sign the petition but the actress refused to sign. Tounges, naturally, started wagging as Kangana and Deepika's rivalry is a well-known fact. Many felt Kangana's behaviour was petty.
Now the actress has issued an official statement to NDTV wherein she said that she did support Deepika but she had her reasons for not signing the petition. The statement read, ""I was filming Manikarnika in Jodhpur, got a call from my dear friend Anushka Sharma to sign the petition written by Ms Shabana Azmi, I explained to Anushka that Deepika Padukone has all my support but I am a bit wary of Shabana Azmi's investment in left wing vs right wing politics. I have my own set of ideas and opinions about the current situation in our country, I am on the fence about many things and being a part of a feminist movement called 'Deepika bachao' lead by someone who character assassinated me when I was bullied, seems to be one of them. Anushka understood but I am glad they reached out to me, like I said Deepika has all my support I am an individual perfectly capable of supporting who I like without anyone's support."
Interestingly, Kangana is not the only actress who hasn't signed the petition. The letter reportedly does not carry Katrina Kaif or Alia Bhatt's signatures either. Alia, a few days back, had condemned the protests and had questioned the government's inaction on punishing the perpetrators.
The letter talks about the threats that Rajput outfit Karni Sena had issued against Padmavati director Sanjay Leela Bhansali and actress Deepika Padukone. A BJP leader had even announced a bounty of Rs 10 crores on Deepika head while some others wanted to chop off her nose.
Padmavati has been facing a severe backlash with Karni Sena demanding a ban on the film altogether. The film was scheduled for December 1 release but the makers pushed the release date as CBFC refused to certify the film- citing incomplete documentation. The move was criticised by Shabana Azmi severely.