Snehashish roy
Actor-politician Kangana Ranaut has once again sparked discussion over her comments on younger generations, this time saying that she identifies with Gen Alpha and praising the cohort for what she described as its “no-nonsense” attitude. Her latest remark comes weeks after she criticised Gen Z protesters and referred to them as a “gutter generation”.
In a recent social media post, Kangana said she related more to the mindset she associates with Gen Alpha. She praised the younger generation for being direct and unwilling to tolerate what she considers unnecessary social conventions.
The remark has attracted attention largely because of Kangana’s earlier criticism of Gen Z. In July, the BJP MP launched a series of attacks on young protesters involved in demonstrations at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. She particularly criticised some young women over their language, behaviour and lifestyle choices and described the generation as “gutter”.
Kangana’s comments triggered considerable backlash online, with users accusing her of making sweeping generalisations about an entire generation. Several people also dug up older interviews and videos involving the actor to challenge her criticism of young people’s lifestyles.
The controversy subsequently became bigger when yoga guru Baba Ramdev criticised Kangana’s remarks about Gen Z. Kangana responded sharply to Ramdev, objecting to his references to her personal life and telling him not to comment on her youth or private affairs.
Kangana later appeared to soften her position on Gen Z. In another social media post, she said that young people were the “strength of our country” and clarified that her criticism was directed at particular behaviour rather than the entire generation.
Her latest Gen Alpha comment has therefore been viewed in the context of this continuing debate.
Generation Alpha generally refers to children born after Gen Z, although the exact birth-year boundaries vary. The cohort is broadly associated with people who have grown up with smartphones, social media and digital technology from an early age.
Kangana, however, is several generations older than Gen Alpha. Her statement is therefore clearly about identifying with what she perceives as the generation’s attitude rather than making a literal claim about her demographic age group.
The actor has increasingly used generational labels while commenting on contemporary social and political issues. Her criticism of Gen Z emerged during the protests led by the Cockroach Janta Party, where thousands of students had gathered at Jantar Mantar over alleged NEET-UG examination irregularities.