It has been six years since Kangana Ranaut made her Bollywood debut and the actress, who has successfully made a mark despite being an outsider in the industry, says her struggle-free journey has just begun. Kangana, 25, made her dream debut with Anurag Basu's 'Gangster' in 2006.

"My journey has been great. It is a mix of struggle and appreciation. But it is only now that I can say I am enjoying my work. Initially, there was lot of struggle but now am getting the kind of roles that I want to do. I now have a say," Kangana told PTI in an interview.

The actress, who is currently in the Capital to shoot director Vikas Bahl's 'Queen', says she never had dearth of roles but her struggle story had more to do with not getting desired roles in films and getting typecast. "Everybody has different kind of struggle. For some it is lack of work but for me it was not getting the right kind of films. After 'Gangster' I was being typecast, be it 'Life in a... Metro', 'Fashion' or others.

"So, I actually had to put my foot down and say 'No I am not going to take more of this'. I almost had to stay out of work sometime to change the course of the image I was getting into without wanting it. I always felt that I had much more to give than just doing the same edgy, dramatic roles."

The National-award-winning actress says there was a time when filmmakers did not even consider her for many interesting roles because of her image. "Whenever a director had a crazy, over-the-top character in the film, they would approach me. I was not getting any other role. There were so many interesting films that were being made but they would never consider me. So, I made a conscious decision not to play such characters anymore," she says.

And it worked. Kangana went on to star in films like 'Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai' and 'Tanu Weds Manu' in which her 'quirky-chirpy' act was appreciated by the audience and critics alike.