Kangana Ranaut, Rajkummar Rao announce the release date of Mental Hai Kya in a quirky video

Bollywood actors Kangana Ranaut and Rajkummar Rao, who have been shooting their upcoming film in London, took to twitter to announce the release date of Mental Hai Kya . The film’s producers Balaji Motion Pictures shared an interesting video announcing the release date February 22, 2019.

The video shows Kangana and Rajkummar in retro looks with sepia-toned clothes and well-oiled hair. They walk backwards into the frame, collide and shout at each other, “Tu Mental Hai Kya?” They later announce, “Mentals will collide this February.

Speaking about the film, producer Ekta said in a press statement, “In a day and age where sanity is overrated, the film is a celebration of the crazy within us all! With Kangana and Rajkummar toplinig this film, we’re set to ask audiences -Mental Hai Kya, in theatres on 22nd Feb.””

Earlier, Rajkummar and Kangana have worked together in Vikas Bahl’s hit film, Queen. Going by the looks and posters of Mental Hai Kya, the film seems quirky, zany and nothing like Queen.

Ekta had earlier said about the movie, “Mental Hai Kya celebrates the beauty in imperfections and in being different and shouts out, Sanity is overrated! I’m thrilled to work with Kangana and Raj on this one.”

Pakistani actress Mahira Khan's debut Cannes journey was an eventful one :Cannes 2018

After making beautiful appearances at the red carpet of Cannes Film Festival, Bollywood divas- Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Kangana Ranaut, Sonam Kapoor have returned to the Bay, after spelling their magic at the French Riviera. Along with these stunning beauties, Pakistani actress Mahira Khan also made a mark at the prestigious festival.

Mahira Khan made her Cannes debut this year and chose vibrant colours to represent her brand. The actress walked the red carpet for cosmetics giant L'Oreal Paris. To end her Cannes trip, the Raees actress wore a pastel saree with a ruffled border, black sleeveless blouse with diamonds cut on it. Hair tied in a fish-tail braid, she looked ethereal.

She captioned the picture as, "I don’t know how kids these days post so many pictures so quickly.. this is killin’ me! (in a good way, in a good way..)

Earlier, she had worn a black off-shoulder dress after the ensemble she was due to wear got stuck at the customs and didn't turn up in time. "I'm nervous," she wrote before making her red carpet debut, but her confident demeanour was a head-turner at the gala, where she and Sonam walked one after another. Mahira dedicated her representation at Cannes as an "ode to the people I have loved so much.... and have inspired me since I was a little girl. Starting from my Ama to Minaal and Rooha... down to all my girls back home in Pakistan".

Kangana laughs at Jim Sarbh's rape joke: What about her feminism?

For years, Kangana Ranaut has been an idol of sorts, for many. The bold and brazen Queen actress has raked up issues that were buried in the seedy underbelly of Bollywood - like nepotism for instance, and has fought back singlehandedly at big stars in the industry, without caring whether anyone was on her side or not.

While many prefer to maintain a cautious silence, she has been applauded by many for her strong stance on sensitive subjects. Her ability to call out the layers of misogyny and oppression in society led us to believe that she was the symbol of feminism in Bollywood. With the tag of an outsider, Kangana had us at the word go, as she battled exclusion, exploitation and blatant sexism to get to the top. And she never hesitated to call out those who did her wrong.

We couldn't help but be awed by this fiery actress. She seemed to be the much-hoped-for catalyst of change in Bollywood.

And so, it comes as a terrible jolt to see Kangana laughing at a rape joke that Jim Sarbh cracked at the Cannes International Film Festival this year. "I'd rather be raped by 12 prostitutes than touch alcohol and the Punjabi says 'Me too, I didn't know that was an option'," he says in a video that's going viral on the net. The joke had Kangana and the rest of the party in splits.

The inanity of the joke aside, it used rape as a punch line. And we're living in a world where the awareness of sexual harassment and rape has never been as strong as it has been before. One would've thought that the  MeToo and  TimesUp campaigns would've made some impact on these mindsets.

Let's go back a bit. Remember when Salman Khan had compared the arduous shoot of Sultan to rape in 2016? Kangana had spoken out against him and had said, "We all agree that it is a horrible thing to say; it is something which is extremely insensitive," she had said at the time.

"Feminism is a movement that has to take over the world. A movement can only be successful when it is global. Anyone should be able to be a part of it. Two years ago, 'feminist' was a shameful word. Since then, women, collectively, have fought cases, put their careers at stake, and risked everything to make this word ambitious. A woman should be allowed to talk about sexual assault even 50 years after it happened, even from her deathbed, because then the exploiter will be scared that one day she might remember it and write a memoir," she had said at an event.

So, when did rape become a joke? And this too, to an actress who has suffered different forms of abuse from a certain actor, as she had once said. We had respected her because she represented a beacon of hope to women, who realised that they didn't have to tolerate any form of abuse or exploitation. That they could also say, "Time's up."

So is feminism just the latest trending word to her, to gain admirers and fans? Is it just for the films and to be splashed about at events?

It seems so. Because, what is most basic about feminism seems to be missing in people like Jim Sarbh and Kangana today. It's not about just "openly advocating women's rights" and thinking that your job is done. One should realise that it's also just plain common sense, and that rape is something that just can't be joked about.