Catching up with Kangana Ranaut

Guess where I was last Thursday! Yes, "catching up with Kangana", as the title of this post suggests. I was one of eleven bloggers chosen to attend this invite-only event. Sponsored by AskmeBazaar, the meet-and-greet event with Kangana Ranaut was hosted at Bungalow 9 in Bandra.

The lioness arrives at Bungalow 9 (and has the lions drooling :-P )

I had to attend this event straight from work, so I carried my evening dress and accessories with me. While I waited for Kangana, I spoke to a few photographers and media teams from certain magazines. A lady from Society magazine took my byte on my thoughts on Kangana's fashion sense. I honestly think the actor's bold attitude goes in her favour. More than your style, your ability to carry off your style matters. Kangana never looks uncomfortable in any of her outfits.

The place is all set to welcome Kangana!

A little about the venue now... I had last been to Bungalow 9 for a Christmas ball, and remembered completely loving the place for its ambience and food. The decor on Thursday was different as AskmeBazaar had put up life-size standees of Kangana, their brand ambassador. This two-storey restaurant and lounge is a renovated bungalow and has a large hall to host dances and events like these. It also has alfresco dining outside the edifice. On the second floor, there is more room for those who wish to dine inside.

Kangana looks stunning in her designer gown.

After making us wait for several minutes, the star of the evening descended into the hall looking like a princess. She wore an elegant, flowing full-length gown made of a light silk-like fabric in a creamy golden colour. Her dress had a peter pan collar (just like the collar of my dress... go on, scroll up ;-) ) and a belt which she loosely tied in the front. Her ensemble was very simple, accentuated only by her giant diamond-studded finger-ring. Kangana volumized her hair with curls and sported a dark shade of brown which went well with her ballgown. Her skin looked brilliant and the nude makeup only enhanced the ethereal look she meant to create. I couldn't get a glimpse of her shoes as the paparazzi made a beeline for her.

The crowd overwhelms her, but she stays calm.

The emcee for the evening asked Kangana for her thoughts on online shopping and her style mantra. Kangana revealed that she does not have a personal stylist. When she is not styled by a professional for her shoots or events, she picks her own clothes and does her own makeup and hair.

Kangana was also asked about her views on women empowerment. To that, she replied that her role in Queen (for which she recently won the National Award) taught her that women can be quite sensitive, but they are powerful too. And the world needs to work together to let women enjoy equal rights everywhere. After the Q and A session with the star, the media teams from various channels rushed to her and bombarded her with even more questions.

Because who doesn't love selfies?

I was a little disappointed as I did not get a chance to interact with Kangana one-on-one. I was planning an exclusive interview with her for all you readers. But my fellow blogger-pals asked me to cheer up and take selfies instead. :-) (We are girly that way!) And through this event, I met some beauty, fashion and lifestyle bloggers.

Amardeep too is excited to meet Kangana!

Amardeep Bajpai, the Chief Marketing Officer at AskmeBazaar, told us how they have grown tremendously in the past six months. In February, they held loads of contests on Facebook and elsewhere, and asked guys to propose to Kangana in creative ways. The winners of all of those contests were flown in from various cities and rewarded that evening.

Daniel - caught in the act!

After a brief break when I went out with my newfound friends for a round of drinks and selfies at the specially designed selfie booths, we were back at the hall for a standup act by Daniel. This dude with killer looks almost made us fall off our sofas - with his sense of humour. He cracked a series of dirty jokes that made some squirm and others, laugh their lungs out. Here's a sample: "In Goa, people can only count till 68... because at 69, they think they have to turn over and start again." (Laugh if you get this.)

The goodies that came out of the goodie bag! :-)

The night ended with some great food. I had Vietnamese khao suey, penne, noodles, spinach and corn fritters and paneer steak. And for dessert, there was tiramisu with liqueur, chocolate cake and dry-fruit ice cream with Bailey's liqueur. Bungalow 9 always gets its food right!

AskmeBazaar bid us farewell with goodie bags and our pictures with props captured in customized frames. I unboxed the goody bag at home and here's what I found - a mug, a diary and a powerbank. It was an evening well spent before the long weekend.