If there’s one thing that Kangana Ranaut’s learned in her journey of six years so far in the film industry, reveals the actor, is that ‘Work speaks louder than words!’

Having constantly found herself in the eye of B-Town gossip — right from there being trouble with actor Hrithik Roshan after apparently being sidelined in Kites, to her friendly connections with actor Salman Khan, and from her fall-out with actor Ajay Devgn to a patch up again — Kangana says that she’s having the last laugh after all. “I would like to believe that my work has shut my detractors up for good,” she says. “I have come up the hard way, without a Godfather and no filmi family, but I’ve always done films on my own terms and I feel that it’s an achievement in itself.”

And while she doesn’t deny that today she has friends in the industry including Salman, she adds that when it comes to professional output, she’s still completely on her own. “Well, I have given solo hits without any Khans so far right?” she laughs. “Jokes, apart, I am not saying that I wouldn’t want to. I would love to work with Salman, and Aamir, and Shah Rukh Khan, but it’s not like I’ve gone running to Salman for work, just because he’s been very supportive of me throughout. I think he respects me for what I am on my own and for me he’ll always be one of the best guys in this industry,” shares Kangana.

With several films to look forward to this year including the Krissh sequel for which she’s been shooting of late with Hrithik, the actor says that she can’t wait to begin shooting for Shootout At Wadala.

It’s hard to miss that she’s playing a gangster’s girlfriend yet again after Gangster and Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai. “I don’t know, maybe I attract the gangster sorts. I just hope it’s not a karmic connection,” she laughs. “But unlike the glam actress I played in Once…, Shootout will see me play a simple middle-class Maharashtrian girl. My character spans a period of over 15 years and I end up playing a 30-year-old.”

Buzz is that she’s been styling her look like that of actor Shabana Azmi in Arth. “Yes, I’ve been studying her performances to bring the maturity of a 30-year-old lady. She’s an amazing performer and I just wish I can bring that kind of dignity to my role too,” she adds.
a_shetye@dnaindia.net