After playing dysfunctional characters like an alcoholic, a schizophrenic, a troubled model and a gangster’s moll, wild child Kangana Ranaut has not just tamed her curly tresses but also her act. With her last film Vaada Raaha opposite ex boyfriend Adhyayan Suman tanking at the box office, Kangana is pinning her hopes on her Tollywood debut Ek Niranjan where she will be seen romancing actor Prabhas.

The actress however “regrets” not making her Tollywood debut earlier with Pokiri “When Puri Jagannath offered me the lead in Pokiri, I was doing Gangster and couldn’t take up the project. I’ll always regret that decision. Now after the item number in Bumper Offer, I’m finally getting to do a full fledged role in Tollywood with his film Ek Nirianjan,” says Kangana.

Talking about how excited she is to be a part of the Telugu film industry, Kangana says, “AP has a huge film market and actors are worshiped here. some of the finest movies are from here and the fact that Telugu movies are being remade in Hindi now is testimony enough. Tollywood is influencing trends in Indian cinema and I’m more than glad to be a part of it.”

Ask her if this move was made to expand her market, and Kangana quips, “I don’t think I’m shrewd enough to have strategies in place. I just follow my heart.”

With two films, apart from the international venture Kites, in her kitty currently, back home in Bollywoood too, the actress has her hands full. And Kangana says she will do anything to better herself as an actor. In fact, Kangana who was once chided for her poor English and North Indian twang is working towards a better diction. “I’ve been going to classes to neutralise my thick accent and speak better Hindi. I don’t want people to find excuses to write me off,” she says.

On the personal front too, things are looking good for this spunky actress. She says she is done with nursing her broken heart after her breakup with Adhyayan Suman and has moved on. “Everyone is trying hard to make me out to be a disturbed girl who is going through a very rough patch in life. It’s not true. I was sad for a while after the break up, but that’s natural. I’ve moved on. A breakup is not the end of life. I’m in a happy place right now.”

-DC