Rani Mukerji

At 46 years old, Rani Mukerji has this physical status:

Rani Mukerji (pronounced [rani mkhrdi]; born 21 March 1978) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. She is lauded for her versatility, winning several awards, including seven Filmfare Awards. Mukerji has appeared in the top-paid actresses of the 2000s.

Despite the fact that Mukerji was born into the Mukherjee-Samarth family, in which her parents and relatives were active in the Indian film industry, she did not want to pursue a career in film. As an adolescent, she began dabbling with acting in Ram Mukherjee's Bengali-language film Biyer Phool and in Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat (both 1996). Mukerji's debut with the action film Ghulam (1998) was her first commercial success, followed by the romance Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998). Following a brief setback, the year 2002 marked a turning point for her when she was cast by Yash Raj Films as the lead in the drama Saathiya.

Mukerji made her name by appearing in many commercially lucrative romantic films, including Chalte Chalte (2003), Hum Tum (2004), Veer-Zaara (2004), and Kabhi Alvida (2006), as well as the crime comedy Bunty Aur Babli (2005). In addition, she was praised for playing an abused wife in the political drama Yuva (2004) and a deaf and blind woman in the drama Black (2005). Mukerji's collaborations with Yash Raj Films from 2007 to 2010 have resulted in several unsuccessful films, causing critics to disparage her choices. This changed when she appeared in thriller No. Killed Jessica (2011), Mardaani (2014), and its sequel Mardaani 2 (2019), and the comedy-drama Hichki (2018). The latter most popular release of the year has been named as her highest-grossing release.

Mukerji is involved with humanitarian causes and is outspoken about issues that confront women and children. She has appeared on tour tours and stage shows as well as being a talent judge for the 2009 reality show Dance Premier League. Mukerji is married to filmmaker Aditya Chopra, with whom she has a child.

Early life and work

Mukerji was born in Bombay (modern-day Mumbai) on March 21, 1978. Ram Mukherjee, the Mukherjee-Samarth family's founder, is a former film director and one of Filmalaya Studios' founders. Krishna Mukherjee, her mother, is a former playback singer. Raja Mukherjee, her elder brother, is a film producer and director. Debashree Roy, a Bengali film actress and her paternal cousin, Kajol, is both a Bengali film actress and her contemporary. Ayan Mukerji, my paternal cousin, is a scriptwriter and film producer. Mukerji was uninterested in pursuing a career in film despite her parents and the majority of her relatives being members of the Indian film industry. "There were already too many actresses at home, and I wanted to be someone different," she said.

Mukerji completed her education at Maneckji Cooper High School in Juhu and earned a Bachelor's degree in Home Science from SNDT Women's University. She is a certified Odissi dancer who began studying dance in the tenth grade and is still learning the art of the dance form. The Mukherjee family celebrates Durga Puja in Santacruz' suburban suburb every year as part of an annual event. Mukerji, a practicing Hindu, attends the festival with her entire family.

In 1994, director Salim Khan approached Mukerji to play the lead female role in his directorial, Aa Gale Lag Jaa. Her father was disapproved of a full-time film career at such a young age, so she turned down the offer. Following her mother's recommendation that she pursue acting on an experimental basis, Mukerji accepted leading roles in Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat Khan's second offer to her and her father's Bengali film Biyer Phool, both of which were released on the same day in October 1996. Mukerji trained at Roshan Taneja's acting academy before beginning work on Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat. In the film, she played a rape victim who is compelled to marry her rapist. Despite the fact that the film was a commercial failure, Mukerji's success earned her a special recognition award at the annual Screen Awards ceremony. Following Mukerji's poor reception at the box office, the film's success, Mukerji returned to college to complete her education. However, she aspired to pursue a full-time film career after being inspired by her cousin Kajol's success in Bollywood.

Personal life and off-screen work

Mukerji prefers not to reveal her personal life. In a 2011 interview, she limits her exposure with the media and is often described as a recluse; "Today actors have become more forthcoming with the media." However, this has created a problem for actors like me because if I don't do that, I will be labeled reclusive. So now I've changed myself and am more approachable." Mukerji has worked closely with actors Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan, as well as filmmaker Karan Johar. Mukerji's affair with filmmaker Aditya Chopra was the subject of fervent tabloid coverage in India, but she refused to speak out about it. She married Chopra at a private celebration in Italy on April 21. Adira, the child's first child, was born in the following year. After motherhood, Mukerji has said that she believes in achieving a work-life balance, as well as adding that "it is extremely important for [a mother] to have a career and use her time constructively."

Mukerji is also active in charitable causes and has spoken out against issues facing women and children. Procter & Gamble and the NGO Child Rights and You joined Shiksha to promote the cause of children's education. In 2011, she founded the Stroke Treatment Fund, in collaboration with the Indian Stroke Association, to fund the care of financially poor stroke patients. She has appeared on television and in favor of other charities and causes. In March 2004, she visited the Indian army unit in Pokhran, Rajasthan, to engage with the jawan troops for the NDTV reality show Jai Jawan. She returned to Baramulla in August 2014, a decade later. Several other Bollywood stars, including Mukerji, participated in the 2005 HELP in February 2005. The victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, who were killed, will be raised by a Telethon concert. Mukerji celebrated her birthday with the Helen Keller Institute's physically impaired children; she had previously worked with them while preparing for her role in Black. In November 2010, she was auctioned off for the "Because I am a Girl" charity cause. Mukerji was honoured by Prince Charles for raising concerns about child violence in London in 2014.

Mukerji has appeared on numerous concert tours and televised award ceremonies. In 1999, she appeared onstage with actors Aamir Khan, Aishwarya Rai, Akshaye Khanna, and Twinkle Khanna. In 19 stage shows around the world, Mukerji appeared alongside Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta, Arjun Rampal, and Priyanka Chopra. Shah Rukh Khan, Fardeen Khan, Ameeesha Patel, and Malaika Arora Khan appeared in the "Temptations 2005" festival in New Delhi later this year; the festival was held to raise funds for the National Centre for Employment for Disable People (NCPEDP). In 2010, Mukerji appeared at a concert in the Army Stadium of Dhaka, Bangladesh, with many Bollywood stars, including Shah Rukh Khan, Rampal, and Ishaa Koppikar. Mukerji appeared in Jakarta, Malaysia, with Shah Rukh Khan, Zinta, and Bipasha Basu, and Jacqueline Fernandez.

Source

Career

Mukerji appeared opposite Aamir Khan in Vikram Bhatt's action film Ghulam in 1998, her first commercial success. Despite the fact that her role in the film was small, the song "Aati Kya Khandala" earned her public attention. Bhatt had someone with a higher voice dub her lines because of Mukerji's husky voice; Mukerji said it was done because her voice "did not suit the character." In his debut directorial debut Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Karan Johar cast her opposite Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol. The role was originally intended for Twinkle Khanna, but when she and several other leading ladies decided against it, Johar signed Mukerji on the insistence of Khan and filmmaker Aditya Chopra. She played Khan's love interest and later spouse, Tina, who dies after giving birth to their daughter. Johar had intended to dub Mukerji's voice, but she mastered her diction and eventually gave her own voice. Nandita Chowdhury, a film reviewer for India Today, wrote that it was "the stunning Rani who steals the show." She also proves herself to be an actress whose time has come, with oozing oomph from every pore. Kuch Hota Hai was a breakthrough for Mukerji, with earnings over 1.1 billion (US$13 million) a year ago to debut as the year's top-grossing Hindi film, and it had received eight Filmfare Awards, including Best Supporting Actress for Mukerji. She appeared in Mehndi (1998 and Hello Brother (1999), a series of missteps that she was unable to propel her career forward.

Mukerji wanted to avoid typecasting as a "typical Hindi film heroine" by 2000 and decided to do more challenging roles in comparison to the archetypical glamorous lead. She appeared in Badal and Bichhoo, two male-centric action dramas (both starring Bobby Deol), in which critics were given no recognition. Kamal Haasan's bilingual film Hey Ram was more rewarding. The film was partially fictionalized account of Mahatma Gandhi's assassination, and Mukerji played a Bengali school teacher who was assaulted and killed in Calcutta's communal riots. She was only playing glamorous roles so far, and Haasan's insistence on authenticity and refusal to wear makeup; she believed that the experience changed her attitude to acting. The tumultuous subject matter of Hey Ram resulted in poor box office earnings, but the film was also recognized and chosen as India's official entry to the Oscars. Mukerji appeared in the romantic comedies Hadh Kar Di Aapne and Kahin Pyaye, earning her a Best Support Actress nomination at Filmfare. Padmaraj Nair of Screen found her role "too complicated for her to be successful," but then continued that "she is quite good in whatever scenes she has been given."

Chori Chupke Chupke Chupke Chupke Chupke, Mukerji's first film of 2001, was released after the Mumbai underworld delayed it by a few months. Salman Khan and Zinta's second collaboration was based on survivacy. Sukanya Verma, a film critic, found Mukerji to be "handicapped with a role that doesn't give her much attention" and preferred the "meatier" role of Zinta. Mukerji's film Bas Itna Sa Khwab Hai and Nayak: The Real Hero, films that struggled to find a large audience theatrically, portrayed Abhishek Bachchan and Anil Kapoor respectively, respectively. Sarita Tanwar of Rediff.com complained that she had "nothing to do other than being part of some stunningly picturized songs." According to an article in Mint, the overwhelming majority of her Kuch Kuch Hota Hai's positions were "insignificant."

Mukerji first began working with Yash Raj Films in 2002: Mujhse Dosti Karoge!, a romantic comedy co-starring Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor, and Saathiya, a Tamil rendition of the Tamil romance Alaipayuthey. The former failed at the box office, as did her two government stints with Govinda last year —Pyaar Diwana Hota Hai and Chalo Ishq Ladaye — disappoint her. Saathiya's romance, on the other hand, was a turning point in her career. She received her first Best Actress nomination and was named Best Actress at the 48th Filmfare Awards. Shaad Ali played Suhani Sharma, a medical student who has to deal with the challenges of being married at a young age, for the vulnerability she discovered in her. She declined the first offer because she disliked the prospect of remaking an old film, but Aditya Chopra was able to pay her respects. She played opposite Vivek Oberoi, with whom she did not like working, and it was said that his "attitude was troubling." Saathiya's commercial success made the company a success. "Mukerji plays the role of a middle-class girl with a strong sense of conviction," the BBC said, and Udita Jhunjhunwala of Mid-Day said that "her words and acting are understated in a situation where she fits her like a glove."

The year 2003 marked the start of Mukerji's career's most fruitful period. In Aziz Mirza's romance Chalte Chalte, she swapped Aishwarya Rai for a lead opposite Shah Rukh Khan. Rai was shot and resentment with her then partner Salman Khan on the film's sets, according to media reports, but Shah Rukh Khan denied that Mukerji had been the right choice for the role. Mukerji believed that the Chalte Chalte, which was about misunderstandings between a married couple, was similar to Saathiya's, and that she could give the scene a different feel. She has said that working with Shah Rukh Khan was a learning experience for her, and that if she did poorly, he would often scold her. Box Office India celebrated its return to Mukerji as a career comeback, and she was honoured with her second Best Actress nomination at Filmfare. None of her year's debuts—Chori Chori, Calcutta Mail, and LOC Kargil—made a name for herself.

Mukerji received both the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress awards at the 50th Filmfare Awards, becoming the first actress to win both awards in the same year. Mani Ratnam's Yuva (2004), a composite film with an ensemble cast, about three children from various societal groups whose lives intersect by a car accident; Mukerji was depicted as a poor Bengali housewife who is abused by her husband, a local goon (Abhishek Bachchan). She based her job on her home helps people who were abused by their husbands, as well as their body language and speaking style. "Among the top ladies, it is Rani Mukerji who is the best of the lot," Taran Adarsh wrote. Rani and Anthony, an actor of substance, were both in need of an actress who delivered more than meets the expectations." She received the Best Actress award for her role in Kunal Kohli's Hum Tum (2004), a romantic comedy about two headstrong people who meet at various stages of their lives. Saif Ali Khan was pitted against her in the film, which was one of the year's biggest commercial successes. "Rhea Prakash's portrayal of her as "self assuredly competent," the Hindu found to be "self-aware" and Tanmaya Kumar Nanda of Rediff.com wrote, "Rani is her usual collected self, morphing into the various shades of her character with the ease of a chameleon."

When Yash Chopra cast her in his period romantic drama Veer-Zaara (2004), she continued to succeed. It's about the titular star-crossed lovers (Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta), set against the backdrop of India-Pakistan relations. In a scene that was originally intended for a man, Mukerji played a Pakistani lawyer who strives to assist the couple. Veer-Zaara emerged as the year's highest-grossing Hindi film, earning over $940 million (US$12 million), and was later shown at the Berlin International Film Festival. Derek Elley of Variety was taken note of Mukerji's "quietly dignified perf," and the BBC announced that she "deserves praise for her work." It's an art to move through your eyes rather than using dialogue. Rani, for one, has mastered this." She received the IIFA Award for Best Supporting Actress, as well as a nomination in the same category at Filmfare.

According to Outlook magazine, Mukerji had established herself as the most popular actress of contemporary Hindi cinema in 2005. In Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Black, a drama about an alcoholic man who dedicates his life to teach a blind and deaf girl how to communicate. Bhansali wrote the part of the blind-deaf girl specifically for Mukerji, but was initially reluctant to take on the role due to the "challenging" subject matter. She accepted and started learning sign language with professionals at the Helen Keller Institute in Mumbai as Bhansali reaffirmed his faith in her. Black received many accolades, including two National Film Awards and 11 Filmfare Awards, and Richard Corliss of Time selected it as the country's fifth best film of the year. "Mrity's appearance in this film was "astonishing," Empire magazine said of Mukerji's "80 Most Iconic Performances" in India, and Filmfare included her name on their list of Indian cinema's "80 Most Iconic performances," the magazine said. "Rani has left an indelible mark in this role that usually occurs once in a lifetime for the majority." At the Filmfare Awards ceremony, she was the only actress to win both the Best Actress and Best Actress trophies.

Mukerji received her second Best Actress nomination at Filmfare for her role opposite Abhishek Bachchan in Bunty Aur Babli, her fifth collaboration with Yash Raj Films. She portrayed Babli, a con woman, in the title role. The film was the second highest-grossing Hindi film of 2005. "She plays to the gallery with ease," Namrata Joshi of Outlook wrote. Mukerji continued it with Amol Palekar's fantasy film Paheli, reuniting her with Shah Rukh Khan. The film was a box office flop in India, but it was still received a strong international exposure; it was on display at the Sundance Film Festival in India and was India's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 79th Academy Awards. Raja Sen of Rediff.com was impressed by the film, as well as Mukerj's appearance, which he described as "another perfectly played part." The last year of Mukerji's release was the period film Mangal Pandey: The Rising, about the titular soldier. Ketan Mehta began working with her for a cameo appearance, but it was later developed into a bigger role during filming. Heera, a prostitute who becomes Pandey's love interest, was the protagonist of her story (Aamir Khan). Despite a small presence, Derek Elley said that Mukerji made "the bulk of her feisty nautch-girl" on "the most of her feisty nautch-girl."

Mukerji turned down Mira Nair's invitation to star in The Namesake in English, instead choosing to reteam with Karan Johar in Kabhi Naa Kehna (2006), a drama about infidelity. She was collaborating with Shah Rukh Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, and Zinta once more, playing an unhappy wife with an affair with a married man. Mukerji said that it changed her own experience of love and marriage, despite the divisive nature of her role. Kabhi Naa Kehna was a well-known debut, earning over $1.13 billion (US$14 million) to emerge as the top-grossing Hindi film in Asia to that point. Rajeev Masand wrote that "consistently competent Rani Mukherjee portrays the film's toughest role — a role that can be difficult to comprehend — but Kaveree Bamzai of India Today dismisses it as another one of her roles requiring the "art of weeping copiously and smiling vainly." It was awarded both the Best Actress and Best Actress at Filmfare for the third time in a row. Baabul, the little-known melodrama, was her last film appearance of the year.

Following the demise of Baabul, Yash Raj Films cast Mukerji in Siddharth Anand's family drama Ta Ra Rum Pum in the role of a racing driver (Saif Ali Khan) wife and the mother of two. For the first time, she was eager to be a mother, and she modeled her character after her own mother. The film, which was released in 2007, was a commercial hit, but critics were split on it. Khalid Mohamed praised Mukerji's performance as "near flawless," but Rajeev Masand said that neither she nor Khan would be able to make a lasting impression because their characters are so unidimensional and boring." Mukerji's film Laaga Chunari Mein Daag starred a young woman who is coerced to moonlight as a prostitute in order to fend for her family. Her portrayal received her seventh Best Actress nomination at Filmfare, but the film received less critical and financial returns. Even though Mukerji was responsible for "holding" the film together, Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express said that even if her role as both the protagonist and hooker didn't have freshness, she didn't have freshness."

In Bhansali's Saawariya, a Bhansali film based on Fyodor Dostoevsky's White Nights co-starring Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor, Mukerji once more played a prostitute. She maintained that her prostitutes she performed were different from each other, with the one in Saawariya having "no problem with her occupation." It was the first Indian film not made by a Hollywood studio, Sony Pictures, and it was the first Indian film not produced by a Yash Raj Films. The film was a box office flop, and critics were dismissive of it. Mukerji's appearance, which was characterized by A. O. Scott of The New York Times as "divine," earned her her second Filmfare Award of the year, this time for Best Supporting Actress. Mukerji's fame had waned by the end of 2007. Rediff.com credited this to her "monotonous mingling" with the same cast members; Hindustan Times announced that she had become a "exclusive Yash Raj heroine" blocking other filmmakers from approaching her.

Mukerji wanted to be a light-hearted role in Kunal Kohli's Thoda Magic (2008), a children's film about an angel who comes to Earth to help four struggling children. Khalid Mohamed scathingly criticized Mukerji's choice of roles, writing that "she's one-dimensional, either daring complete blast smiles or tetchy scowls." Her costumes, as well as her costumes, are uneasy-on-the-eyes." The film had poor box office results and had a bigger role in Mukerji's career prospects. An India Today article told her she was "running out of luck at the box office" and that promotions had a decline.

Mukerji shed weight and underwent a makeover in an attempt to combat this decline. She continued to work with Yash Raj Films, playing Shahid Kapoor in the romantic comedy Dil Bole Hadippa. (2009). Mukerji had a high hopes from the film in which she portrayed a cricket-obsessed Punjabi village girl masquerading as a male, and it had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. Gaurav Malani, a columnist for the Economic Times, was dissatisfied with the photograph, but Mukerji "comes up with a spirited appearance, but her sarcastic sob-whimper do not move much anymore." "You should not imagine the charming actress as the moustached male protagonist" after a point. The film was Mukerji's fourth financial setback in a row. When she was asked about her latest series of flops with the Yash Raj Films banner, she defended the campaigns, saying, "I stand by those films regardless of their fate." She appeared as a talent judge for the Sony Entertainment Television reality show Dance Premier League later this year. She decided to appear on television to increase her exposure in the midst of a weak season in her film career.

Mukerji's role in the 2011 film "One Killed Jessica" was "one of her best performances to date," Aniruddha Guha of Daily News and Analysis said. Vidya Balan, a co-starring role, was Mukerji's first commercial success since Ta Ra Rum Pum, and was particularly notable in the absence of a male protagonist. Mukerji was depicted as a fictionalized foul-mouthed journalist who is closely involved with the investigation in the Jessica Lal murder case. "I really had to play a man," she said of how different the role was from the ones she had previously played. However, several commentators, including Anupama Chopra, were critical of her debut, saying that "the character is written superficially, and Rani's portrayal of her is similarly banal. It's all about the outside. She argues a lot and proudly describes herself as a bitch, but her hair stays perfectly in place, and in the end, she gets to do a super-hero-like slow motion walk." Nonetheless, the role earned her her third Best Supporting Actress award at Filmfare.

Mukerji continued to play a key role in Aiya's comedy of manners. (2012). She played a woman with a keen sense of smell and a one-sided attraction to Prithviraj Sukumaran's character under Sachin Kundalkar's direction. Rediff.com sparked her decision to act in the film, saying she "gets no benefit from the way her character is written." In Reema Kagti's psychological thriller Talaash: The Answer Lies Within, a mother grieving the death of her child. Roshni Shekhawat, a mother grieving the death of her child. The film, co-starring Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor, debuted as the year's eighth highest-grossing Hindi film, earning over $1.74 billion (US$22 million). Ronnie Schieb of Variety described Mukerji as "vivacious in a quietly sympathetic role" and that she was awarded the Best Supporting Actress award at Filmfare.

In 2013, Mukerji appeared in Bombay Talkies, a series of four short films. She was part of Johar's segment in which she played a journalist who learns that her husband (Randeep Hooda) is gay. At the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, the film was shown. Despite poor box office returns, Bombay Talkies received critical acclaim, particularly for Johar's segment; Daily News and Analysis's Tushar Joshi lauded Mukerji's subtlety; Mukerji appeared in Pradeep Sarkar's crime thriller Mardaani, in which she played the lead role of Shivani Shivaji Roy, a Marathi policewoman whose role in a kidnapping lawsuit that leads to the discovery of human trafficking's identity. She took on the role of advising girls "how they should protect themselves." She worked with senior officials of Mumbai Police and learned the Israeli self-defense system of Krav Maga. Rajeev Masand praised Mukerji for "investing Shivani with both physical and emotional energy, as she gives us a hero that is impossible not to root for," and Anupama Chopra praised her for her "emotional intelligence" and "emotional depth." The film was a commercial success, and earned Mukerji another Best Actress award at Filmfare.

Following the birth of her children, Mukerji took a four-year absence to concentrate on her daughter, and Aditya Chopra's husband encouraged her to return to acting. She was keen to work on a project that would honor her parental duties and discovered it in the comedy-drama Hichki (2018). The film, based on Brad Cohen's autobiography Front of the Class, follows Naina Mathur, an aspiring teacher with Tourette syndrome who must prove herself by teaching underprivileged students. Mukerji interacted with Cohen, and she taught her character's motor and vocal tics to be spontaneous and not rehearsed. Anna M. M. Vetticad of Firstpost wrote that she "lifts Hichki every time she appears on the scene, adding empathy and charm to Naina's story without ever soliciting the audience's sympathy." It earned 2.3 billion (US$29 million) worldwide, the majority of which came from the Chinese box office, and Mukerji expressed an interest in working more often in the future. At Filmfare, she received her second Best Actress nomination.

In Mardaani 2 (2019), directed by Gopi Puthran, who wrote the first film, Mukerji revisited her role as Shivani Shivaji Roy. In it, Roy faces a teen rapist against a young gangist (Vishal Jethwa). The Indian Express said that Mukerji is "in command right through as she works to a script that brings her to the fore at any given opportunity," but Film Companion Rahul Desai chastised her for overplaying Roy "more of a Dhoom franchise character" than a cop." Mardaani 2 did well at the box office and earned another nomination for Best Actress at the Filmfare Awards. Filmfare praised Mukerji for defying "the myth that actresses have wrestled for decades after marriage and children; an actress' career in Bollywood has come to an end."

Mukerji reprised her role as Babli from Bunty Aur Babli in the 2021 successor Bunty Aur Babli 2. The film was lauded for its technological aspects, but Mukerji's performance was more welcome. After many years, Ronak Kotecha of The Times of India praised her marriage with Saif Ali Khan. Mukerji will appear in Ashima Chibber's drama Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway.

Source