2016 is set to be the year of reckoning for Kangana Ranaut. While she would be playing the solo leading lady in Vishal Bhardwaj and Sajid Nadiadwala’s Rangoon with Saif Ali Khan and Shahid Kapoor for company. She is also in talks to feature in a Shekhar Kapoor directed film where she plays the part of a 85 year old. Meanwhile, she has also signed up for Ketan Mehta’s biopic on Jhansi Ki Rani. This isn’t all as there is also Hansal Mehta’s Simran waiting to go on floors. With a couple of more exciting projects waiting to be green-lighted, Kangana indeed has her hands full for next couple of years at the least.

I never waste time on the sets.

The year is coming to a close and Tanu Weds Manu Returns has emerged as one of the hugest films that Bollywood has given. How do you look back at the film?

Well, strenuous (smiles). I had to go through a lot of training, not just for the spoken language but also body language. I had never been to a campus in real life. I did high school and then straight away stepped into movies. For me, to get used to campus life and being an athlete was really tough, more so since I was a science student in school. (Laughs) We had to study for 19-20 hours a day and here I had to train for so many hours to step in as an athlete.

In each of my films, I like to concentrate on the emotional journey of a character, just like I did for Katti Batti.

You must be taking it easy now.

Not really, because I never waste time on the sets. I hate that. Every minute is precious, so if you are running out of time then you are wasting a lot of energy and money. I want to be totally prepared for the part that I have to play. So if I had to play Datto in Tanu Weds Manu Returns, I couldn’t sleep the previous night since I was busy preparing. In each of my films, I like to concentrate on the emotional journey of a character, just like I did for Katti Batti. I want to be prepared for a role completely before I step on to the sets.

What I have done so far is not even 5% of what I can actually do.

Today when you have delivered the biggest film ever for a female central protagonist, do you feel that you have managed to find your due in a big way?

Guess what, the person that I am is still within me. My sense of confidence comes from that imagination and that creation. It is just that people stumbled upon Queen and Tanu Weds Manu Returns and now their perspective has changed. However, this perception change can’t change me as everything that people are seeing now was always inside me. It was always achievable so how can that make any difference to me?

I just sometimes feel that there aren’t too many better writers out there.

So any more perception shifts that you are anticipating, especially after being in the industry for almost 10 years now?

They will stumble upon something new next year and then their perspective will change again. It is going to be a new discovery for them. See, they were shocked with Queen but then not as much with Tanu Weds Manu Returns as that is something that they now expect from me. They know that I would do a good job. They used to be taken aback earlier but not anymore. Now what they wish to see is if there is a surprise in store.

Kangana Ranaut as Datto in Tanu Weds Manu Returns

Kangana Ranaut as Datto in Tanu Weds Manu Returns

How do you look at future?

I just sometimes feel that there aren’t too many better writers out there. I am not just talking about Bollywood but cinema as a medium. I am sure they are around but they need to be lapped up. I still think that my abilities as an artist are at very primitive levels. There is a lot to come. I will definitely want to express a lot more. What I have done so far is not even 5% of what I can actually do.