Kangana Ranaut

Shabnam Mahmood: Hi, everyone. I'm Shabnam Mahmood from BBC News, and I'm here with Kangana Ranaut, one of the biggest stars in India today. She shot to fame in 2006 with her debut film Gangster, and in less than a decade, she's established herself as one of the leading actresses in Bollywood. Her choice of roles has redefined the stereotypical Indian film heroine.

Let's welcome Kangana. Kangana Ranaut: Thank you everyone. Thank you. Thank you Shabnam. Shabnam Mahmood: First of all, Kangana, I'd like to take you back to your childhood.

Tell me about your story. What were your expectations growing up as a young girl, in your family, in your village? Kangana Ranaut: Well, the thing is, in India, it's a matter of fact that a girl child is seen as a liability, and probably the only expectation is that, you grow up to, you know, be a presentable young woman who can get a decent spouse.

That's not much of an expectation, but yeah. Shabnam Mahmood: So what were you like as a child? Kangana Ranaut: Oh, pain, I'd say.

I wasn't a child that, an Indian parent would like to have. I was quite rebellious, and I'd, I didn't see myself as, I guess my family saw. I didn't see myself as a liability.

I didn't see myself, as someone who is, you know, just, whose purpose of life is just to find a good enough husband who can take care of her. I saw myself as much more than that. Shabnam Mahmood: You said rebellious. What kind of things did you do as a child?

Kangana Ranaut: I think I was quite confident of myself and I had a mind of my own. I liked the fact that my father had a lot of expectations from my brother, and I wanted to, I probably wanted to be that person who he could be proud of and who could, you know, who could be her own hero.

So yeah, that led to, many incidences, including, my running away from my house, I guess. Shabnam Mahmood: Before we come to that, just wanted to ask you a little bit more about your family. Was it a very traditional family?

Was there a lot of, you know, the male members of your Mm-hmm. Were they treated with favoritism? Kangana Ranaut: Yes. I won't say it was an exceptional Indian family.

That is pretty much how it is everywhere, where, you know, you grow up in a very protective environment, which can sometime lead to a little bit of suffocation as also. You know, it can just, be a little too protective sometimes. Shabnam Mahmood: Were your family sort of like they had favoritism towards your brother?

Kangana Ranaut: Yeah. Like I said, in India, you know, woman is, a girl child is seen as a liability, so naturally it, they did, they aren't, a girl child isn't that celebrated, for sure. Shabnam Mahmood: So what eventually pushed you to leaving home?