Avid wanderer Kangana Ranaut enjoys anonymity as much as exploring
Her journey in Bollywood has had its share of ups and downs, but the adventurer in Kangana Ranaut says, “The journey is as important as the destination!” An avid traveller, we explore the globetrotting side of Bollywood’s reigning Queen.
Aarti Kapur Singh: You are fond of travelling alone – something that few people do. What is the experience like?
Kangana RanautI have travelled or been on a solo holiday many times! And I love my own private trips to take in the world. In a way, it sets me free. The initial two or three days of travelling alone are slightly difficult. You worry about things you have left behind, your work and commitments. But slowly your apprehensions evaporate as you soak in the sights and sounds, and stop behaving like a machine. I feel this kind of a pause is very essential in a person’s life.
AKS:Any memorable trips or holidays?
KR:My first trip abroad was extra special – it was to Korea when we shot for my first film ‘Gangster’. Though I was not by myself, it was such an exhilarating experience. When I landed there, I realised how different this other world was. That was a true ‘foreign’ country, you could not understand the language at all, they don’t follow even basic words in English. So you feel so helpless, it’s like, what if you get stranded? What would you do?
AKS: What do you do on your getaways?
KR:Explore! Recently, while doing a screenplay writing course in the US, I travelled to the academy by train. I would sit next to strangers and start a conversation about them and their lives. Sometimes it’s great to be part of the natural processes of life. I have been on trains only in my movies and it’s so different from the real thing. Such journeys keep you real.
AKS: Where do you head off when you want to be alone?
KR;I like to go to Europe or the US. People don’t recognise me and it’s fun to see them wonder where they have spotted me!
AKS: What are your travel essentials?
KR:If I am going by myself and backpacking, I like to pack three or four T-shirts, shorts, jeans and a pair of running shoes. That’s all I take with me. But it also depends on where I am going. I can’t stick out like a sore thumb wearing loungewear in London!
AKS: What’s your favourite holiday destination?
KR:I absolutely love Italy! I went to Florence by myself when I was not shooting and could explore the place like a traveller – I think I am lucky I could do that. I would spend so many evenings in cafes writing, with a cup of coffee for company.
AKS: And what do you do while on a holiday?
KR:I walk, I trek, take pictures..all sorts of things…I go backpacking. I write a lot, I write stories.I like to see history, it always excites me, so when I went to Florence and Rome, I simply loved it. I also like shopping for clothes, but for that I go to New York or Milan, maybe Paris or London. I love taking buses and standing in queues. But that’s not the only thing I do there. I would go to museums and stand in queues, the kind of life I have come bfrom; taking in sights and sounds always fascinates me. Standing in queues and just leading a normal life, going in buses, going in cabs, I love all that. I’m not someone who wants attention lavished on me. I don’t even like too many people around me when I am travelling.
AKS: Where would you go on a ‘singles’ holiday?
KR:Las Vegas…I would also like to go to South America, especially Brazil.
AKS: And on your honeymoon
KR: Paris!