Rani Mukerji

Biography

Rani Mukerji (pronounced [raːni mʊkʰərdʒi]; born 21 March 1978) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films.

Noted for her versatility, she is the recipient of multiple accolades, including seven Filmfare Awards. Mukerji has been featured in listings of the highest-paid actresses of the 2000s.

Born into the Mukherjee-Samarth family, Mukerji dabbled in acting as a teenager by starring in her father Ram Mukherjee's Bengali-language film Biyer Phool and in the social drama Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat (both 1996).

Mukerji had her first commercial success with the action film Ghulam and breakthrough with the romance Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (both 1998).

Following a brief setback, the year 2002 marked a turning point for her when she was cast by Yash Raj Films as the star of the drama Saathiya.

Mukerji established herself by starring in several commercially successful romantic films, including Chalte Chalte (2003), Hum Tum (2004), Veer-Zaara (2004), and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), and the crime comedy Bunty Aur Babli (2005).

She also gained praise for playing an abused wife in the political thriller Yuva (2004) and a deaf and blind woman in the drama Black (2005).

Mukerji's collaborations with Yash Raj Films from 2007 and 2010 produced several unsuccessful films and led critics to bemoan her choice of roles. This changed when she played a headstrong journalist in the thriller No One Killed Jessica (2011).

Further success came with the thrillers Talaash (2012), Mardaani (2014), and Mardaani 2 (2019), the comedy-drama Hichki (2018), which emerged as her highest-grossing release, and the drama Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway (2023).

Mukerji is involved with humanitarian causes and is vocal about issues faced by women and children.

She has participated in concert tours and stage shows, and featured as a talent judge for the 2009 reality show Dance Premier League. Mukerji is married to filmmaker Aditya Chopra, with whom she has a daughter.

Mukerji was born in Mumbai (present-day Mumbai) on 21 March 1978. Her father, Ram Mukherjee (born to the Mukherjee-Samarth family), was a former film director and one of the founders of Filmalaya Studios.

Her mother, Krishna Mukherjee, is a former playback singer. Her elder brother, Raja Mukherjee, is a film producer and director.

Her maternal aunt, Debashree Roy, is a Bengali film actress, and her paternal cousin, Kajol, is a Hindi film actress and her contemporary. Another paternal cousin, Ayan Mukerji, is a scriptwriter and film director.

Despite her parents and most of her relatives being members of the Indian film industry, Mukerji was uninterested in pursuing a career in film. She said, "There were already too many actresses at home and I wanted to be someone different".

Mukerji received her education at Maneckji Cooper High School in Juhu and graduated with a degree in Home Science from SNDT Women's University.

She is a trained Odissi dancer and began learning the dance form while in the tenth grade. As part of an annual tradition, the Mukherjee family celebrates the festival of Durga Puja in the suburban neighborhood of Santacruz every year. Mukerji, a practicing Hindu, takes part in the festivities 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 disapproved of a full-time career in film at such a young age, so she rejected the offer.

At age 18, following her mother's suggestion that she pursue acting on an experimental basis, Mukerji accepted leading res in the social drama 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.

Before she began work on Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat, Mukerji trained at Roshan Taneja's acting institute. She portrayed a rape victim who is forced to marry her rapist in the film.

Although the film was a commercial failure, Mukerji's performance earned her a special recognition trophy at the annual Screen Awards ceremony. Following the film's poor showing at the box office, Mukerji returned to college to complete her education.

However, inspired by her cousin Kajol's success in Hindi films, she decided to pursue a full-time career in films.