'Just feel sad': Kangana Ranaut labels Jaya Bachchan as 'arrogant' over parliament address

Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut has expressed her strong disapproval of Jaya Bachchan’s public objection to being addressed as "Jaya Amitabh Bachchan" in the Indian Parliament. In a recent interview during the promotion of her now-postponed film Emergency, Kangana dismissed Bachchan's concerns about her identity as a "petty issue."

“This is a very shameful thing that today, the beautiful differences between a man and a woman, as made by nature, is looked at as discrimination," Kangana told Fever FM.

Suggesting that the current feminist movement might be off track, Kangana continued, "A man is a man, and a woman is a woman, and togetherness is a beautiful happening. These are petty issues. In the name of feminism, people are going in an ugly direction... society is going into an ugly direction.”

On July 29, Jaya Bachchan raised an objection to the use of her husband Amitabh Bachchan's name as her middle name, asserting that every woman had her own identity. While inviting her to speak in the Rajya Sabha, Deputy Chairman Harivansh addressed her as "Shrimati Jaya Amitabh Bachchan ji," to which the actor responded, "Sir, sirf Jaya Bachchan bolte to kaafi hojata (It would’ve been enough to call me Jaya Bachchan)." Harivansh clarified that this was how her name was recorded in the official documents.

Kangana described Jaya Bachchan's stance on her identity as "arrogance" and remarked, "This arrogance hasn’t spared even the beautiful bond within families. Humans should embrace each other and not dissect each other with this sort of harshness. People are simply flaring up with the name coming up like they’re getting a panic attack or something. And when they say, ‘My identity is taken over, I am destroyed’ I just feel sad.”

Kangana is currently awaiting the censor certification for her film Emergency, which has been postponed from its original release date of September 6. The film, based on the life of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, features Kangana in the lead role, with Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Mahima Chaudhary, and Milind Soman also part of the cast.