Kangana Ranaut admits being miserable after Hrithik Roshan sent legal notice in 2016: ‘Sides were taken, living hell…’

Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut became the latest celebrity to join the viral “2026 is the new 2016" trend. Sharing a throwback picture from 2016, Ranaut recalled how ‘success became poisonous’ after hits like Queen and Tanu Weds Manu Returns. Referring to the controversy around her and Hrithik Roshan, she called the year “a living hell.”

Kangana Ranaut and Hrithik Roshan

For the unversed, a highly publicised controversy erupted between Kangana Ranaut and Hrithik Roshan after the Queen actor called Roshan her “ex” in interviews. She claimed to have a personal relationship with him, which Roshan denied later. He sent her a legal notice in the matter and demanded an apology. After Ranaut refused to apologise, she alleged that attempts were made to shut her down. This resulted in a series of legal and media battles as allegations, leaked emails, cybercrime complaints, and forensic investigations took place.

Kangana Ranaut on her 2016

Looking back at 2016, Ranaut wrote on Instagram, “Why is everyone missing 2016 suddenly? It was the inevitable ascend of my career trajectory, post back to back blockbusters like Queen and Tanu weds Manu returns I became the highest paid actress but then in the January of 2016 one of my colleagues sent me that controversial legal notice which shook and divided the industry in to insiders and outsiders.”

“Success became poisonous and life became a living hell. Sides were taken and many more legal battles followed,” she added.

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In 2020, Javed Akhtar filed a defamation case against Ranaut for claiming in an interview that he had asked her to apologise to Hrithik Roshan regarding their public feud. He also claimed that Ranaut dragged him into the Sushant Singh Rajput case. The matter was solved in 2025.

Kangana Ranaut on '2026 is the new 2016'

10 years after the Hrithik Roshan case, Kangana Ranaut penned down her thoughts: “Ten years ago had I known in 2026 I will be eating carbs in all my meals, will be laughing a lot and none of the 2016 drama would mean anything to anyone few years down the line, honestly I would have not been so miserable back then. Thank God it’s not 2016 and we are in 2026.”

Kangana Ranaut's films

On the work front, Kangana Ranaut was last seen in the 2025 film Emergency.

She will be seen in multiple films, which are lined up in her pipeline. Her upcoming film will be Bharat Bhhagya Viddhaata. She also has two sequels to her hit films, Queen 2 and Tanu Weds Manu 3, both of which are expected to be released this year. She will also be starring in Manikarnika Returns: The Legend of Didda.