The Mardaani franchise and Rani's stardom

The only franchise spearheaded by an actress doing the heavy lifting. And that too, by an actress in her 40's. Is Rani more of a star than we give her credit for?

I don't think any other actress, even Vidya or Kangana or Tabu, has that kind of stardom to attract audiences to theatres for female-centric films consistently like Rani is doing. Rani is the only actress among her contemporaries to have that kind of standing in the industry.

Naysayers will say that it's only because of her husband that she is getting these films tailored to suit her talent, but what about the fact that she is able to get in the numbers consistently and has aced the role of a badass, gutsy cop to the T?

I think it's commendable❤️

Rani heavy lifts the entire franchise and is fab!

Honestly, more than Rani, i feel the villians are better of both the movies. They are complex, hateful and are portrayed by men with great talent.

Exactly what a perfect franchise should be, each story, is thrilling with some top notch performances and hopefully we get more of this!

Originally posted by: oye_nakhrewaali

Rani heavy lifts the entire franchise and is fab!

Honestly, more than Rani, i feel the villians are better of both the movies. They are complex, hateful and are portrayed by men with great talent.

Exactly what a perfect franchise should be, each story, is thrilling with some top notch performances and hopefully we get more of this!

Well, I think the highlight of the films are the cat-and-mouse game between Rani and the villains. That cat-and-mouse game is so cleverly executed in both films and everyone's performance was top-notch!

Success of her female centric films shows her star power

Rani is doing the best from elder actresses. But she has a studio at her disposal 😳

Rani is good actress no doubt

But she had advantage over other 90s like priety, ash etc because of adi chopra

Right from late 90s she got extra benefits and perks than other actress

So her growth is not organic

Others had to struggle to get each role

Rani is more like nepo kids got all movies on platter no competition in career

I respect priety zinta more as from nobody with no help she went so high in career

Ash had salmans help but that he only destroyed her career later

Kajol had kjo and adi help

These three top actress of late 90s and early 2000s

That's the difference between a brilliant actress like Rani, who turns her chances into successful films, and a terrible actress like Aishwarya for example, who ruins films and turns them into flops thanks to her terrible acting.

How much does Rani charge YRF? Because they keep declaring her films post marriage a hit, so how much is her acting fee?

It's a little bit of column A and a little bit of column B. Of course, she does have the advantage of having a studio behind her willing to back her. As a forty-something, she is lucky to get roles centered around her. There are others who don't get the same opportunity.

At the same time, Rani has not squandered her opportunities. She carries with her the charisma and stardom of youth and doesn't disappoint by giving fantastic performances that people root for. Not everyone who gets opportunities can make the most of them.

I hope the Mardaani franchise continues and can keep delivering good stories. I keep thinking of how Mariska Hargitay is in her fifties and has been Olivia Benson for over twenty years now. SVU has surpassed the mothership.

Rani Mukerji is very talented and a popular star for sure. But I don't think saying "wow she has the first franchise" means anything particularly special.

It just so happens that the last few years it's been the season for sequels. Her husband running the most prolific production house in the history of Hindi cinema has been a HUGE benefit for this to happen. They have of course hand-picked every little detail. They have a PR machine that can make even an average film look like a huge success.

I think Rani has the right amount of credit she deserves, which is a lot.

(can you imagine she wasn't married to Aditya Chopra, would she even be on the radar????)