Rani Mukharji Biography

Profile:

Name: Rani Mukherjee

Date Of Birth: 21 March 1978

Place Of Birth: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Occupation: Film actress

Height: 5′ 3″ (1.60 m)

Biography:
Rani Mukerji is an Indian film actress who works in Hindi movies. Born to the Mukherjee-Samarth family, she made her acting debut with a cameo appearance in the Bengali film Biyer Phool (1996), on the insistence of her mother. The following year, Mukerji made her Hindi film debut with Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat, and subsequently had her first, and still biggest commercial success with Karan Johar’s romance Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), which won her a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. She later starred in several films that fared below expectations, before featuring in the critically acclaimed drama Saathiya, for which she won her first Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress. In addition to acting in films, Mukerji has featured as a talent judge for Sony Entertainment Television’s reality show Dance Premier League. She is a regular stage performer and has been involved in philanthropic endeavors related to women and children. Despite constant speculation, she remains guarded about her personal life and is sometimes labelled a recluse by members of the media. Mukerji currently lives in Juhu with her parents.


Rani Mukherjee childhood photo
Early life and background:
Mukerji was born in Mumbai on 21 March 1978 to a film-oriented family of Bengali origin. Her father, Ram Mukherjee, is a retired director and one of the founders of Filmalaya Studios while her mother, Krishna, was a playback singer. Her brother, Raja Mukherjee, is a film producer turned director. Her maternal aunt, Debashree Roy, is a Bengali film actress and her cousin, Kajol, is a popular Bollywood actress. Another cousin of hers, Ayan Mukerji is the writer and director of Wake Up Sid (2009). As part of a tradition, the Mukherjee family celebrates the festival of Durga Puja at Santacruz every year. Mukerji, being a religious person, takes part in the festivities with her entire family. Mukerji is a trained Odissi dancer and began learning the dance in the tenth grade. She was schooled at Maneckji Cooper High School in Juhu, and graduated from SNDT Women’s University in the field of Home Science. Despite her family background, Mukerji was never interested in becoming an actress. In 1994, director Salim Khan approached her to be a part of his directorial, Aa Gale Lag Jaa. Her father was against her working in films and hence, she turned down the offer. However, she finally decided to take up acting on an experimental basis, on the insistence of her mother.


Rani Mukherjee family photo
Acting career:

Prior work and breakthrough, 1997-2002:
After doing a short cameo appearance for the first time in her father’s Bengali film Biyer Phool (1992), Mukerji made her acting debut five years later, as the protagonist of Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat (1997). Her performance as a rape victim in the film was well received, but the film failed to do well commercially. Nevertheless, she received a Special Jury recognition at the Star Screen Awards. However, when the film failed at the box office, she returned to college to complete her education. Mukerji as Tina Malhotra in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), her biggest commercial success to date. Pictured with Shahrukh Khan. Mukerji had a successful comeback in 1998 with Ghulam, opposite Aamir Khan; the film did well at the box office. The song Aati Kya Khandala made Mukerji popular among the masses, earning her the nickname of Khandala Girl. Karan Johar’s directorial debut, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, co-starring Shahrukh Khan and Kajol, followed for her that year. The movie was a blockbuster, and she received her first Filmfare Award in the Best Supporting Actress category. She followed her career by signing on several projects. Unfortunately, most of them did not do well at the box office. Although Badal was one of the highest grossing films of 2000, she still didn’t succeed to establish her status in the industry at that point of time.

In 2001, Mukerji starred in Abbas Mustan’s romantic drama Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, co-starring Salman Khan and Preity Zinta. The film was released after a one-year delay, and was one of the first Bollywood movies to handle the issue of surrogate childbirth. Mukerji’s role was that of Priya Malhotra, a woman who is unable to conceive after a miscarriage, thus hires a surrogate mother. Rediff.com wrote, “Rani Mukherji is handicapped with a role that doesn’t give her much scope besides weeping and sobbing. To her credit, she manages to hold her own even while playing a stereotypical sacrificing bhartiya nari.” In 2002, Mukerji played the lead role in Kunal Kohli’s romance Mujhse Dosti Karoge!, co-starring alongside Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor. Although the movie did not do well in India, it generated great business overseas, and marked her entry into India’s biggest production house: Yash Raj Films. Later that year, Mukerji starred in Shaad Ali’s critically acclaimed Saathiya opposite Vivek Oberoi. Essaying the role of Suhani Sharma, a medical student who deals with the tensions and discontent of being married at a young age, she won a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance, and among several other nominations, received her first Best Actress nomination at the Filmfare. Manish Gajjar from BBC noted, “…Rani Mukerjee…plays the character of a middle class girl with great conviction.”


No One Killed Jessica movie still
Success, 2003-06:
Mukerji’s first 2003 release was Aziz Mirza’s drama Chalte Chalte opposite Shahrukh Khan. The film saw her play a similar role to that of Saathiya, and she received her second nomination for Filmfare Best Actress Award. Among another three releases that year, Mukerji starred in Chori Chori, where she portrayed her first comic role. Although the film did not do well at the box office, Mukerji’s comic timing was praised. In 2004, her performance as a Bengali housewife in Mani Ratnam’s Yuva won Mukerji her second Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award. Though the film failed to do well, her performance was critically acclaimed with one critic writing, “the role demanded an actress of substance and Rani more than lives up to the expectations”. She followed through by playing the leading role in the romantic comedy Hum Tum, which became one of the biggest hits of the year. Mukerji’s portrayal of Rhea Sharma, a woman of today’s generation, won her several awards, including her first Filmfare Best Actress Award. Her last release of the year was Yash Chopra’s love saga Veer-Zaara, co-starring alongside Shahrukh Khan and Preity Zinta. The film, which emerged as the top grossing movie of the year in India and abroad, tells the love story of an Indian officer, Veer Pratap Singh, played by Khan, and a Pakistani woman, Zaara, played by Zinta. Mukerji played the supporting role of Saamiya Siddiqui, a Pakistani lawyer who takes it upon herself to find the truth about Veer Pratap Singh.Mukerji in her critically acclaimed performance as the blind, deaf and mute Michelle McNally inBlack (2005), which earned her the Filmfare Best Actress Award for the second consecutive year.

In 2005, Mukerji starred in four high-profile films: Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Black, Shaad Ali’sBunty Aur Babli, Amol Palekar’s Paheli and Ketan Mehta’s The Rising. She was primarily noted for her performance in Black. When Bhansali first came to Mukerji with the offer, she turned it down and stated that she was not confident enough to play a deaf-blind girl. Her next release, Bunty Aur Babli, surfaced as one of the biggest hits of the year. The film, though successful at the box office, opened to mixed reviews, and so did Mukerji’s performance, with one critic writing, “Rani has done a great job most of the time, though she does tend to go a little over the top in the crying scenes. Mukerji was offered the lead role in Mira Nair’s Hollywood film, The Namesake (2007) but owing to clashing dates with Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, she could not commit to the project. Her first release in 2006 was Karan Johar’s drama Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, which consisted of a multi-starrer that included Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Preity Zinta and Kirron Kher.  Rajeev Masand from CNN-IBN concluded, “Rani looks a million bucks and she dives under the skin of her character to make that part one that we will remember for a long time.”   Mukerji’s next release was B.R. Chopra’s Baabul. The movie did not do well at the box office in India, though proved to be a hit overseas. Her role as a widow met with mixed reviews.


Dil Bole Hadippa movie still
Recent work, 2007-Present:
Mukerji’s first 2007 release, Ta Ra Rum Pum, where she played a pianist turned housewife and a mother for the first time on celluloid, was a semi hit. Her performance was generally well received, with one critic noting, “Rani enacts the role of the mother/wife proficiently.”Her last two releases of the year, Pradeep Sarkar’s drama Laaga Chunari Mein Daag where she played the role of a woman who is forced to take up prostitution due to family problems and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Saawariya where she again essayed the role of a prostitute, were critical and commercial failures in India. Mukerji’s role in Kunal Kohli’s Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic, which released on 27 June 2008, received positive reviews from critics; however, the film failed to do well at the box office. Mukerji starred as a feisty Punjabi village girl who dreams of playing first class cricket, no matter what it takes. Her performance in the film was generally well received by critics. The movie co-stars Shahid Kapoor and Anupam Kher. Mukerji is currently shooting for No One Killed Jessica which is being produced by UTV Motion Pictures and directed by Rajkumar Gupta who had previously directed the critically-acclaimed film Aamir, the film is believed to be based on the controversial Jessica Lal murder case.


Rani Mukherjee and Shahrukh Khan
Personal life:
Mukerji changed the English tranliteration of her surname from Mukherjee to Mukerji several years ago. At the time, it was reported that she did this for numerological reasons. In 2006, Mukerji stated that numerology was not a concern; her name had been put down as Mukerji on her passport, and she wanted to be consistent. Mukerji has three homes in Mumbai, including her childhood home. She bought a bungalow in Juhu for herself and her parents in mid-2005. The house went through a two year renovation with the interiors done by Twinkle Khanna and Sussanne Roshan.

Controversies:
In June 2005, Mukerji was widely criticized following the publication of an interview with British newspaper Desi Xpress. Mukerji was asked to name her idol and she replied, “Adolf Hitler”. However, in an interview with Times Now a year later, she denied ever mentioning Hitler’s name. In November 2006, Mukerji was shooting for the film Laaga Chunari Mein Daag in Varanasi when avid fans crowded the set. Security personnel beat the crowd back. A media storm followed as various groups insisted that Mukerji should have stopped the security guards. Mukerji later issued an apology.


Rani Mukherjee and Hrithik Roshan
Other work:
In March 2004, Mukerji visited the sandy dunes of Rajasthan to boost the morale of the jawans. It was for a show where entertainers and stars visit Indian troops in far-flung regions to encourage them along with the NDTV team. In February 2005, Mukerji performed at the HELP! Telethon Concert to help rais