Rani Mukharji Biography

Rani Mukharji

Rani Mukherjee 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. Mukherjee, being a religious person, takes part in the festivities with her entire family.


Mukherjee 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.

After doing a cameo appearance for the first time in her father's Bengali film Biyer Phool (1996), Mukherjee made her Hindi film debut the following year, as the protagonist of Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat. Her performance as a rape victim was well-received, but the film failed to do well at the box office.

Mukherjee had a successful comeback in 1998 with Vikram Bhatt's Ghulam, opposite Aamir Khan. The film did moderately well at the box office, while the song "Aati Kya Khandala" earned her public recognition. Karan Johar's directorial debut, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, starring Shahrukh Khan and Kajol, was her next release. She played the supporting role of Tina Malhotra, a sophisticated girl in love with Khan's character. The movie was a blockbuster,  and Mukherjee went on to receive her first Filmfare Award in the Best Supporting Actress category.

She subsequently played leading roles in the films Mehndi (1998) and Hello Brother (1999), with the latter opposite Salman Khan. Both these films were critically and commercially unsuccessful.

Mukherjee's first release of 2000 was Raj Kanwar's action drama Badal opposite Bobby Deol. The film emerged as one of the highest-grossing films of the year, but met with negative reviews from critics. She then essayed a brief role in Kamal Haasan's Hey Ram as the protagonist's first wife, Aparna Ram. The controversial film, based on Mahatma Gandhi's assassination, was a critical success and was chosen as India’s official entry to the Oscars that year. Mukherjee next appeared in Bichhoo, an unofficial adaptation of Luc Besson's Leon, as the foul-mouthed, coarse daughter of a drug dealer. The film and her performance received negative reviews from critics. She also starred alongside Govinda, for the first time, in the comedy Hadh Kar Di Aapne.

Later that year, she teamed up with Salman Khan for two films, Raj Kanwar's Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega and Kahin Pyaar Na Ho Jaaye. While the former was inspired by the Sandra Bullock starrer While You Were Sleeping (1995), the later was a remake of Frank Coraci's The Wedding Singer (1998). She was appreciated for her performance in Har Dil Jo Pyaar Karega and received her second Filmfare nomination in the Supporting Actress category.

In 2001, Mukherjee 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. Mukherjee's role was that of Priya Malhotra, a woman who is unable to conceive after a miscarriage and thus, hires a surrogate mother. She next played the love-interests of Abhishek Bachchan and Anil Kapoor respectively, in two predominantly male-centric films: Bas Itna Sa Khwaab Hai and Nayak: The Real Hero. Upon release, both films under-performed at the box office.

In 2002, Mukerji essayed the lead role of Pooja Sahani in Kunal Kohli's romance Mujhse Dosti Karoge!, alongside Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor. The film marked the first of her many collaborations with one of India's largest production companies: Yash Raj Films. Although the movie flopped in India. That year, she acted opposite Govinda once again in two commercially unsuccessful films, Pyaar Diwana Hota Hai and Chalo Ishq Ladaaye.

Later that year, Mukherjee 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 Actress, and received her first Best Actress nomination at the same ceremony. The film, which earned a moderate success at the Box Office.

Mukherjee's first release of 2003 was Aziz Mirza's box office hit Chalte Chalte opposite Shahrukh Khan. Though the film saw her play a role similar to the one she played in Saathiya, her new "tanned" look was appreciated and her portrayal earned her a second nomination for Best Actress at the Filmfare awards. She next featured as the protagonist in Milan Luthria's Chori Chori opposite Ajay Devgan, Sudhir Mishra's Calcutta Mail alongside Anil Kapoor and Manisha Koirala and J.P. Dutta's multi-starrer war film LOC Kargil. All three of them were critical as well as commercial failures.
In 2004, she acted in Mani Ratnam's composite film Yuva alongside Ajay Devgan, Abhishek Bachchan, Vivek Oberoi, Kareena Kapoor and Esha Deol. Though the film failed to do well at the box office, the film by itself and her performance were critically acclaimed. The film fetched Mukherjee her second Best Supporting Actress award at the Filmfare ceremony. She received further success by playing the leading role in Yash Raj Films' romantic comedy Hum Tum, directed by Kunal Kohli, which became one of the biggest hits of the year. The film won her several Best Actress awards, including her first Filmfare Award for Best Actress.

Her last release of the year was Yash Chopra's love saga Veer-Zaara, in which she co-starred alongside Shahrukh Khan and Preity Zinta. The film, which emerged as a major commercial success.

In 2005, Mukherjee starred in four high-profile films: Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Black, Shaad Ali's Bunty Aur Babli, Amol Palekar's Paheli and Ketan Mehta's The Rising. She was primarily noted for her performance in Black. Black was a major critical success, and Mukherjee received unanimous acclaim for her performance.

Her next release, Bunty Aur Babli, surfaced as one of the biggest hits of the year. The film, which became a box office success, opened to mixed reviews, and so did Mukherjee's performance.

Her third release that year, Paheli, opposite Shahrukh Khan, was a Box Office disaster. The film was critically acclaimed, as was Mukherjee's performance. In her final release of the year, The Rising, she played a prostitute, Heera, who is the love interest of the protagonist Mangal Pandey, played by Aamir Khan.

In 2006 she starred in Karan Johar's drama Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, featuring Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Preity Zinta and Kirron Kher. The film opened to mixed reviews but emerged as a major overseas success.

Mukherjee's next release was B.R. Chopra's tearjerker Baabul alongside Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan and John Abraham. The movie did not do well at the box office in India, but proved to be a hit overseas.

From 2007 to 2009, Mukherjee featured primarily in films produced by Yash Raj Films (with the exception of Saawariya). Her first release was Siddharth Anand's melodrama Ta Ra Rum Pum, where she played Radhika Rai Banerjee, a pianist turned housewife opposite Saif Ali Khan. The film performed decently at the box office, while her performance was generally well received. Her next release of the year was Pradeep Sarkar's drama Laaga Chunari Mein Daag alongside Jaya Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Konkana Sen Sharma and Kunal Kapoor. The film met with mixed reviews, while Mukherjee was criticised for playing stereotypical roles that required her to cry often. Her final release of the year was Sanjay Leela Bhansali's tragedy Saawariya, where she essayed a smaller part of a sex-worker. The film, which featured debutants Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor in lead roles, was a critical and commercial failure.

In 2008, Mukherjee was paired with Saif Ali Khan again for Kunal Kohli's Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic. This fantasy film had Mukherjee play an angel who comes to Earth to help four troubled kids. The film, which flopped at the box office, met with generally positive reviews from critics. The box office failure of her recent films made Mukerji lose weight and undergo a makeover in her following release, Dil Bole Hadippa (2009). The film under performed at the Indian box office.
She was not seen in any 2010 releases. In 2011, Mukherjee starred in UTV Motion Pictures' semi-biographic thriller, No One Killed Jessica, based on the Jessica Lal murder case. She played the fictional character of a foul-mouthed television journalist, Meera Gaity, deeply involved with the case. Upon release, Mukherjee's performance received mostly positive reviews. The film was a commercial success, despite the absence of any prominent male actors. Mukherjee won her third Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Her upcoming films include Reema Kagti's suspense thriller Talaash co-starring Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor and Sachin Kundalkar's Aiyaa opposite Prithviraj.