Biography of Rani Mukerji

Childhood

Rani was born on March 21, 1978 in the city of Calcutta, into a large Bengali family, many of whose members were directly related to the Indian film industry.

Her dad, Mukherjee Ram, was a director. Mom, Krishna, worked as a voice-over singer and recorded soundtracks for films. Brother Mukherjee Raj is a producer. Maternal aunt Debashree Roy and cousin Kajol Devgan are actresses.

It is not surprising that with such an environment, Rani dreamed of being on a film set since childhood. In addition, the parents awarded their daughter a difficult name, which promised her an interesting fate. Rani means "queen" in Hindi.

She was fourteen years old when, as a schoolgirl, Mukherjee played her first small role. In 1992, her father directed her in an episode of the film Bayar Phool. After this, another director made a tempting offer to the young beauty for filming, but her parents insisted that Rani refuse. They considered their daughter too young for serious film work.

The Mukherjee family was wealthy, and for the next five years, Rani received an education at a college, which was paid for by her parents.

Childhood and family

The future movie star was born on March 21, 1978 in the capital of West Bengal, Calcutta, into the Mukherjee-Samarth film dynasty, which, like the famous Kapoor family, stood at the origins of Bollywood.

Rani Mukerji as a child

Her father Ram Mukherjee (1933 – 2017) was a film director and the son of the founder of Filmalaya Studios. Mom Krishna Mukherjee was a voice-over vocalist, elder brother Raj became a producer. Kajol's cousin is a popular actress whose skills Rani sincerely admires. Many more distant relatives also had or are directly related to cinema.

Rani Mukerji and her mother, actress and singer Krishna

The actress, who belongs to the Bengali people, received her name in honor of Rani Jahasi, the ruler of the principality of Jahasi, where the girl’s father was from. The little girl grew up on legends about a great warrior, stronger and more resilient than many men, so she is sure that women are stronger than men: “That’s how I was raised. And if you want to see changes for the better in society, start with yourself. The way husbands treat their wives affects the psyche of their children. We all as a family need to do our little bit to make this world a better place.”

Rani Mukerji during her school years

The girl received her secondary education at the Manekji Cooper School, studied the art of dance in the tenth grade, then graduated from the SNDT Women's University in Mumbai, and also trained at the Acting Institute. Roshana Taneji.

Rani Mukerji in her youth

First roles

Rani truly began her journey into cinema in 1997, when the nineteen-year-old beauty was offered to star in the film “The Wedding Cortege.” The film failed at the box office, recouping only the filming costs.

But the young actress did not despair. Already in the next 1998, Mukherjee starred in three films at once: “Unbowed to Fate”, “Everything Happens in Life”, “Thorns of Love”. The first two films became hits, and Rani gained popularity overnight. Her parents were more happy about her success than she, especially her mother, who always dreamed that her daughter would have a successful career in cinema.

In 1999, Mukherjee starred in a small role in the romantic drama "Rebel Soul", and in the comedy "Greetings from the Invisible Brother" she got one of the main characters.

Filmography

Film career

By 2000, the young actress became so enamored that she starred in six films at once:

• "The Reluctant Killer";
• “How not to fall in love”;
• "Breath of Time";
• "Every Loving Heart";
• "Professional";
• "Divorce the Indian way."

In her entire film career, this year turned out to be the most fruitful. However, not every film was a success; half of them were not successful at the box office. Critics began to speak unflatteringly about Mukherjee's talent. But the actress did not fall into despair again; the swing from success to failure did not frighten her. She had already tasted the taste of fame too well, so she continued acting and strived forward - to new achievements.

She again gained recognition from the audience after the release of melodramas:

• "Someone else's child" (2001);
• “Both in sadness and in joy” (2001);
• "Anatomy of Love" (2002);
• “On the Roads of Love” (2003);
• "You and I" (2004);
• “At the crossroads of destinies” (2004).

The last two films brought Rani two awards for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress. These pictures can rightfully be called turning points in the fate of the actress. On one of the film sets she met the Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan. The king of Indian cinema influenced the worldview and self-esteem of the young actress. Mukherjee became confident in herself and her talent.

In 2004, Rani played a Pakistani lawyer in the melodrama Veer and Zara; this role brought her many awards.

In 2005, the films “Uprising” and “Bunty and Babli” were released, which became the highest-grossing films. Mukherjee played leading roles in these films. And after the release of the drama “The Last Hope,” there was no limit to critics’ praise for Rani. Her character, deaf-blind woman Michelle McNally, brought the actress all the major awards of 2005.

So many successful works in a row finally cemented her image as a successful and popular movie star. Mukherjee has repeatedly become the winner of film festivals, not only Indian, but also international. Twice she topped the top ten best actors in Bollywood. Rani became one of the most sought-after actresses in Indian cinema, and remains so to this day.

The following films with her participation enjoyed enormous popularity outside of Bollywood:

• "Dad";
• “When one life is not enough”;
• "Beloved";
• "Fallen Angel";
• "A little love, a little magic";
• “Ta-ra-ram-pam”;
• "Oh my God";
• "Brave."

Rani Mukerji

Born March 21, 1978, Kolkata is an Indian actress. Her father Ram Mukherjee is a former director and her mother Krishna used to be a voice-over singer. Her brother Raj Mukherjee is a producer. Her maternal aunt Debashree Roy was a popular Bengali actress and her second cousin Kajol is a popular Bollywood actress.

On April 21, 2014, Rani married director Aditya Chopra, who also comes from a family of filmmakers. On December 9, 2020, a girl was born into the family - Adira.

Rani's first film was The Wedding Procession, which did not gain much success. However, the next two films, “Defiance of Fate” and “Everything Happens in Life,” became hits. After such success, offers rained down on Rani. She rushed for quantity and appeared in many films that did not do well at the box office. Although The Reluctant Killer was the sixth highest-grossing film of 2000 (she made the most films that year than any other year in her career), she still made more duds than audiences wanted.

In 2002, she returned to her previous status with the film Anatomy of Love, which earned good box office and positive critical praise. In 2003, there was a fairly successful film “The Roads of Love” with Shah Rukh Khan. 2004 was a turning point in Rani's career. Her performance in “At the Crossroads of Fate” and the box office hit “You and Me” earned her two Filmfare awards: Best Supporting Actress and Best Actress. Her role as a Pakistani lawyer in Veer and Zara also won her many awards. It was then that she became the most sought-after actress for Yash Raj Films, the largest Bollywood film company. In 2005, Rani was still pursuing success. Her films Bunty and Babli and Uprising were the highest-grossing films that year. Rani received good praise for her performance irrespective of the film, but critical praise skyrocketed after Last Resort. This film brought Rani all the major awards of 2005. These successes made Rani one of the brightest stars in Bollywood. In 2006, she starred in Karan Johar's Never Say Goodbye, which became one of the most anticipated releases of the year, and in Daddy, directed by B.R. Chopras. However, the story of the widow shown in "Daddy" was not liked by the audience, and the film failed. In 2009, she starred in the film “The Heart Says Forward!” along with Shahid Kapoor and Sherlyn Chopra.

The actress also participated in a number of international tours. The 2004 Temptations was her most successful concert, where she performed alongside Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta, Arjun Rampal and Priyanka Chopra.

Rani Mukerji topped the Top Ten Bollywood Actresses list three times from 2005 to 2007. In February 2006, Filmfare magazine ranked her eighth on its list of "Ten Great Names of Bollywood". In 2007 she rose to fifth.

On January 29, 2012, Rani received the award for Best Supporting Actress for the film Nobody Killed Jessica and became the first actress in the history of the Filmfare Awards to have 7 statuettes in her treasury.

Personal life

Mukherjee's first stormy romance began at the dawn of her film career, when she starred in the same film with the already popular actor Govinda Arun Ahuja at that time. He was fifteen years older than Rani, and also a family man. Govinda was married to a high society girl, Sunita, and the couple raised two children. Only they themselves know how far the connection between Rani and Govinda went, but there were rumors in Bollywood that the actor wanted to leave his family for the sake of a young beauty. However, the lovers failed to build a serious relationship, and they broke up.

The second romance also began on the set with actor Abhishek Bachchan. The couple was called one of the most beautiful in Bollywood, everyone was eagerly waiting for Rani and Abhishek to announce their engagement. However, several years of romantic relationships did not end with a wedding. Abhishek's parents were against his chosen one, and he did not contradict them.

Rani met her husband, the famous Indian screenwriter, director, and producer Aditya Chopra, back in 1998 on the set. But the love relationship between them began to develop much later, thirteen years later. In 2014, their wedding took place, the event was celebrated in Italy in Bengali style. The bride wore a national costume, lehenga choli, and only her closest friends and relatives were present at the ceremony.

Rani's husband always preferred to hide his personal life from journalists. Mukherjee took the same position after the wedding, although before that she was open to communication. The couple rarely appears at social events; they like to spend their free time at home, and sometimes they can go to a regular cinema for a film premiere. Despite the fact that both spouses are leaders by nature, they have learned to build their family life with respect and love. In rare interviews, Rani says that she is very happy in her marriage.

Filmography[ | ]

Birth of a child and maternity leave

In December 2020, the couple had a daughter, Adira.

In one of her interviews, Rani said that the most wonderful feeling she has experienced in her life is carrying a child. And after she gave birth to a daughter, all her previous achievements in the world of cinema faded against the background of this great event. For a long time, the actress could not decide for herself whether she was ready to return to work again. Cinema really made her happy, but after the birth of her daughter, Rani realized that a child was a completely different special joy. She took a break for a year to devote herself entirely to the baby, to be with her every minute, to see her first steps and hear her first words.

During the first three months after the birth of the baby, the husband did not leave Rani and his daughter. But he didn’t just help his wife in everything. Aditya wanted to push his wife a little in this way so that she would not get stuck forever in the child-obsessed zone. Chopra constantly insisted that Rani must return to work.

When the baby turned two years old, her mother nevertheless decided to return to cinema. Rani did this only for the sake of people who like her roles and films. She thought that she simply had to act for her fans. But the actress has given herself a clear goal for now - no more than one film per year. Mukherjee does not want to film four projects a year as before; she cannot afford to be separated from her daughter for so long.

In 2020, the first film starring Rani Mukerji was released after her maternity break. In the film “Hiccups,” the actress played a young woman who suffers from a rare disease – involuntary hiccups. Despite this health problem, the heroine Rani stubbornly fights for her happiness.

Fans of the actress still hope that she will change her decision and delight with her presence on the screen much more often than once a year.

Biography

Rani comes from a large Bengali family, many of whose members devoted themselves to cinema. Her father Ram Mukherjee is a former director and her mother Krishna used to be a voice-over singer. Her brother Raj Mukherjee is a producer. Her maternal aunt Debashree Roy was a popular Bengali actress, her cousin Kajol is a popular Bollywood actress. Rani also has a cousin Sharbani Mukerji. Rani is a graduate of Maneckjee Cooper High School, Juhu. Soon she received several offers from film producers in Mumbai. She entered there and subsequently became one of the best actresses in the world's largest film industry.

Rani Mukerji photography

Career

Rani's first film was The Wedding Procession, which was not very successful. However, the next two films, “Defiance of Fate” and “Everything Happens in Life,” became hits. After such success, offers rained down on Rani. She rushed for quantity and appeared in many films that did not do well in the cinema. Although The Reluctant Killer was the sixth highest-grossing film of 2000 (she made the most films that year than any other year in her career), she still made more duds than audiences wanted. In 2002, she returned to her previous status with the film Anatomy of Love, which earned good box office and positive critical praise. In 2003, there was a fairly successful film “The Roads of Love” with Shah Rukh Khan. 2004 was a turning point in Rani's career. Her performance in “At the Crossroads of Fates” and the box office hit “You and Me” brought her two Filmfare awards: Best Supporting Actress for the first film and Best Actress for the second. Her role as a Pakistani lawyer in Veer and Zara also won her many awards. It was then that she became the most sought-after actress for Yash Raj Films, the largest Bollywood film company. In 2005, Rani was once again a star-studded star. Her films Bunty and Babli and Uprising were the highest-grossing films that year. Rani has always received good praise for her performance, irrespective of the film, but critical praise has skyrocketed for Rani's performance in the film The Last Resort. This film brought Rani all the major awards of 2005. These successes made Rani one of the brightest stars in Bollywood. In 2006, she starred in Karan Johar's Never Say Goodbye, which was one of the most anticipated releases of the year, and BR Chopra's Daddy. The story of the widow shown in "Daddy" was not liked by the audience, and the film was a failure. The actress also often appears on the pop stage and has participated in a number of international tours. Temptations 2004 was her most successful concert, where she performed alongside Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta, Arjun Rampal and Priyanka Chopra.

Rani Mukerji photography

Rani Mukerji topped the Top Ten Bollywood Actresses list three times from 2005 to 2007.
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In February 2006, Filmfare magazine ranked her eighth on its list of "Ten Great Names of Bollywood". In 2007 she rose to fifth.

Rani Mukerji photography

Best weeks

Interests, hobbies, beauty secrets

Rani loves her birthday very much. As a child, it was never possible to gather friends on this day, since it fell in the midst of exams. The whole celebration consisted of the girl putting on a beautiful outfit and treating her relatives to eclairs. But now, as soon as March comes, the actress jokingly reminds everyone: “My birth month has already begun.”

Rani is very pretty, beautiful and royally statuesque. Her unique green eyes and radiant smile attract others at first sight. In addition to stunning external data, the actress has a powerful inner charm. The secrets of her beauty are a healthy lifestyle, proper nutrition and yoga.

She never chased fashion. If in Indian cinema everyone began to lose weight, Rani remained plump and pretty. Mukherjee is always elegant, knows how to choose the right clothes, and uses discreet makeup. Another of the main advantages of the actress is her gorgeous hair. For many years now, she has been the face of leading shampoo manufacturers in India.