A Quiet Hurt Behind the Spotlight: Kangana Ranaut Recounts a Painful Fashion Fallout
Kangana Ranaut revisited a painful past, alleging designer Masaba Gupta barred her from wearing her sari for a Ram Janmbhoomi visit, leaving the actress humiliated and quietly heartbroken.
Kangana Ranaut has long carried the reputation of being Bollywood’s most outspoken voice, unafraid of friction or fallout. Yet, beneath that steely exterior, the actor-politician recently revealed a moment of deep, private hurt—one that unfolded far from flashing cameras and loud debates.
Taking part in the viral “2016 is the new 2026” social media trend, Kangana revisited memories from nearly a decade ago. Among nostalgic snapshots and reflections, she opened up about her once-warm association with designer Masaba Gupta, the daughter of veteran actor Neena Gupta. What followed, she said, was an incident that left her shaken and silently emotional.
Kangana recalled preparing for a visit to Ram Janmbhoomi in Ayodhya while she was already en route from Lucknow. She was wearing a sari by Masaba Gupta, arranged earlier through her stylist. Midway through the journey, she learned that Masaba had instructed the stylist that Kangana should not appear at the religious site in her design. With no possibility of changing outfits, Kangana said she felt stripped of dignity and sat in her car, crying quietly.
She further shared that later, Masaba allegedly asked the stylist not to associate her brand name with Kangana at all, mirroring a pattern Kangana claims she has experienced with other designers over the years. According to her, many creatives who once sought her visibility later distanced themselves, refusing to dress her or acknowledge her publicly.
Posting an old selfie with Masaba, Kangana expressed disappointment not just over the incident, but over what she described as ideological intolerance. She cautioned younger generations to be wary of prejudice masked as professionalism, adding that such experiences extended beyond films into fashion and endorsements.
Designers get very excited whenever their brands get seen on celebrities, have you seen Masaba or her brand handles use these images ? These images were all over the Internet. Can you explain why won’t she use these images or why won’t the stylist tag her?
— Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) January 17, 2026
Those days Tejas was…
The actress questioned why images of her wearing the designer’s creations, widely circulated online at the time, were never shared or acknowledged by Masaba or her label. She pointed out that designers typically celebrate celebrity visibility, making the silence around those images more telling.
Providing further context, Kangana clarified that she had asked the same stylist who assisted her during the promotions of her 2023 film Tejas to help with her spiritual visit. While Masaba had willingly provided outfits for film promotions, she reportedly withdrew support once the Ayodhya visit was mentioned.
Kangana also expressed gratitude toward her stylist, whom she described as compassionate and sincere. The stylist, she said, discreetly advised her not to tag the designer and even bore the cost of the sari herself.
Even years later, Kangana admitted the episode still unsettles her. The bitterness, she said, was difficult to digest, and remains an ugly memory she cannot quite shake off.
