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Kangana Ranaut Needs To Get Behind The Camera More Often, And Here's Why

So, Apparently Kangana Ranaut Is A Natural At Direction Too
Indian Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut poses for a photograph during a promotional event for the Hindi film 'Tanu Weds Manu Returns' in Mumbai on late June 9, 2015. AFP PHOTO / STR (Photo credit should read STRDEL/AFP/Getty Images)
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Indian Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut poses for a photograph during a promotional event for the Hindi film 'Tanu Weds Manu Returns' in Mumbai on late June 9, 2015. AFP PHOTO / STR (Photo credit should read STRDEL/AFP/Getty Images)

Apparently, it isn't enough for Kangana Ranaut to be Hindi cinema's top actress at this time. The two-time National-Award-winning actress, currently basking in the glow of 'Tanu Weds Manu Returns', has reportedly directed the first seven minutes of her upcoming film 'Katti Batti', otherwise directed by Nikhil Advani.

"It's a seven-minute uncut sequence. I had to shoot it by holding the camera in my hands which was the demand of the script. It was nerve-racking, but actors can do anything for a director who shows trust and faith in their abilities. Nikhil (Advani) is one such director," Ranaut said in a statement, as quoted in this NDTV article.

Advani has called this opening sequence one of his "favourite scenes from the film", which features Ranaut playfully shooting her co-star Imran Khan with an iPad. Since he wanted the scene to look "authentic and organic", he took his cinematographer Tushar Kanti Ray's suggestion to let Ranaut shoot it herself. According to him, Ranaut has shot the sequence "like a pro" and added "one more talent to her already overflowing basket".

This is not even Ranaut's first time behind the camera. Back in 2011, the actress had directed a short film called 'The Touch', which was shot in Los Angeles with an Australian crew. She has spoken about her desire to write and direct on several occasions. A year ago, she told film critic Anupama Chopra in a video interview about how being involved with directing and editing allows one to treat each scene like "a mini-film" and understand the entire process better.

Stills from 'The Touch', a short directed by Kangana Ranaut in 2011

In the same interview, in response to a question from filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra about whether being involved in this process helps make her a better actor, she replied, "Yeah, and letting myself be one of the instruments in the director's hands that, okay, he's leading this orchestra and I don't have to be singing a different song and how important it is to understand everyone's role and to be in sync with that is what I learnt after directing that film." She added that the experience of directing was so enriching for her that she recommends it to all actors as well as directors who are sometimes unable to handle actors.

Chopra's interview, uploaded on her YouTube channel, also contains nearly a minute of exclusive footage from 'The Touch', which begins at the 1:40 mark, and it definitely doesn't look like the work of a first-timer. Watch it below.

There is no stopping this insanely talented woman, is there?

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.