Was Hema Malini’s Kangana Ranaut-Rakhi Sawant statement on contesting election a slip of tongue?

In her home constituency Mathura last week when Hema Malini was asked what she had to say about Kangana Ranaut contesting elections from Mathura, she said, not without sarcasm, “I have nothing to say. I leave it all to Lord Krishna. Tomorrow it may be Rakhi Sawant (who wants to contest elections).”

Talk about killing two birds with one stone!  The inimitable Hema Malini took pot-shots at both Kangana and Sawant with her barbed comment. I thought Kangana would immediately hit back. But I guess better sense prevailed.  She has so far not said a word   about the incident.

But Rakhi Sawant has a lot to say and she in full form in a video where she thanks Modiji for thinking of   her for looking after matters of the state and thanking him for conveying his wish for her to be a parliamentarian through Hema Malini.

Says Rakhi, “Aaj mai itni khush hoon. Actually yeh secret ttha ki iss baar main 2022 mein election ladne wali hoon. Yeh joh Modiji aur hamare Amit Shahji hain, woh announce karne wale tthe… Par yeh mera saubhagya hai ki mere dil ke dream girl, meri sweetheart… Hema Malini ji… unhone announce kar diya hai ki iss baar ke elections main ladd rahi hoon (I am very happy today. It was actually a secret that I will be contesting in the elections. The news was to be announced by PM Modi and home minister Amit Shah. But it is my good fortune that my dream girl Hema Malini announced the news of me contesting the upcoming elections).”

No, Sawant is not being sarcastic, she is dead serious. This is not the first time Hema Malini’s words have created a traffic jam. She is known to speak unfiltered and many a times I have found myself toning down her sharp utterances to avoid trouble.

In 2016   when her critics felt   Hema Malini was   not spending enough time in her constituency Mathura, she had lashed out in an interview explaining, “I’ve other commitments too. I am a wife and a mother and I am a dancer and an actress. Am I expected to forget all my other duties? Still, I spend more time in Mathura than anywhere else. And yet there is an uproar the minute I start shooting for a film. Arrey, every MP has other responsibilities, not just me. Why am I being targeted? I care too much for Mathura to let the cynics and trouble makers get to me. A section of the local media is constantly questioning me about my intentions, motives, action, etc. I’m answerable only to the Prime Minister and to my constituency.”

It remains to be seen what Kangana Ranaut has to say about being clubbed by Hema with Rakhi Sawant. But Hema who didn’t want to comment on-record any further on this issue, told a friend that the local media in Mathura provokes her into making comments that she would otherwise not make.

Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based film critic who has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. He tweets at @SubhashK_Jha.

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