In 2006, Kangana Ranaut made her Bollywood debut with Anurag Basu‘s Gangster. She was soon going to collaborate with the director for the third time for a film which was tentatively titled Imali. However, the Queen actress had to opt out of the project. “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,” she shared.
The actress is currently working on three films– Mental Hai Kya, Panga and Jayalalithaa biopic — and in the meantime also working on her next directorial venture.
Kangana also revealed that she has a clear vision of how she wants her filmography to progress but opting out of Anurag’s film was a tough call for her.
She said:
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.
But Kangana definitely wants to collaborate with the director in the future. “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 concluded.