Kangana Ranaut opts out of Anurag Basu's next to focus on her next directorial venture

Kangana Ranaut has opted out of Anurag Basu’s next film, tentatively titled Imali, to focus on her own directorial venture. Anurag had launched Kangana in his 2006 romantic thriller Gangster. The duo had also worked together in Life in a… Metro. 

Kangana is presently working on Ashwini Iyer Tiwari’s Panga and Prakash Kovelamudi’s Mental Hai Kya. She will be shooting for Vijay's Jayalalithaa biopic later this year, post which she will begin work on her second directorial venture after Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi. 

“Last year, when I announced Panga and Imali together, Anurag Basu’s film was supposed to go on floors in November 2018. But I had to direct and reshoot Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi. So, I had to push Imali. I was also meaning to be a director for a while, so I couldn’t have said no to this. Meanwhile, Panga had already started and I couldn’t not do that,” Kangana said. 

Kangana spoke about her newfound passion for filmmaking and why she wishes to direct her second film soon. “Manikarnika has done very well, so I want to take my directorial career further. I can’t not direct now. I had signed the Jayalalithaa biopic because it’s a strong character and in sync with whatever I’m doing with regards to women empowerment,” she said. 

The actor added that opting out of Anurag’s film was a tough call for her. “Anurag and I have spoken about it. I feel extremely bad because Imali was giving me an opportunity to work with my mentor again, but I’m on the verge of announcing my own film in a few weeks from now. That has taken a lot of my time and I have conveyed it to Anurag, who understood my situation.” 

That said, Kangana plans to reunite with Anurag for a film soon. “We will work together at some point. Imali is a beautiful love story and we can do that later. But right now, my focus is on my next directorial venture because I’ve just delivered a Rs 100-crore film and it’s the right time for me," she said.