Reign Woman - Rani Mukherjee

This queen rules the box-office. Her powerhouse performances have wowed the critics even as her on-screen charisma has mesmerised the masses.
Mini Chandran Kurian
interfaces with a candid Rani Mukerjee

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

WHAT you want to be, you become. And even as a teenager, there was nothing Rani wanted more, than to be the ideal daughter, to be in a position where she could give her parents everything they desired; to be a person in her own right, enormously successful, such that whatever clouds hung over their lives, would be dispelled forever.
Nearly all of it came true fairly quickly as anyone could see that she was to the screen born; her astounding felicity with the cinematic dialect is obvious to the most carping critic. The rise of Rani Mukerjee was inevitable, and even the low patch that she hit a few years ago lasted but a brief time, with her innate resilience coming to the fore and helping her bounce back to the top of the marquee with films like Saathiya, Yuva, Chalte-Chalte, Veer-Zara, Hum Tum and finally, Black and Bunty aur Babli.
The world is familiar with a poised and composed Rani, saying the right things, always smiling, always in control. Perhaps the
only chink in her armour, her only display of vulnerability is when her eyes turn to her parents the instant her name is announced at any award function, or even after a stage performance, seeking their approval.
A closely-knit family, basking collectively in her success, they have, in her own words, kept her "…grounded and positive. I could have been carried away otherwise and lost my sense of balance". If there is one thing that Rani abhors, it is an excess of fortune heaped upon one all of a sudden. The constant and the consistent are what she prefers; proverbs like 'slow and steady wins the race' spell a comfortable philosophy that gives her life great purpose.
"I am not a Friday-to-Friday person," she admits, adding, "I can't stand the strain of being idolised one week and rejected the next. I'm glad that I've found a special place in this industry. I've had more hits than misses, and my position is secure." Which is a modest claim, to say the least, as without question, Rani Mukerjee is the most soughtafter actor in the country today. From directors like the Chopras to the Johars and actors ranging from the established Khans to the newer lot like John Abraham, all swear by her. It's been 10 years and a host of awards, yet 2005 will rank as an all-time special year due to the acclaim she received for Black and Bunty Aur Babli.
She acknowledges the happy chance that had such disparate roles being offered to her at the same time – a golden sheaf that emphasised her phenomenal talent. "Black was cathartic in a sense. All the angst, all the little anxieties that you have about yourself as an artiste were answered in this one film. It was like expelling a big sigh… I am truly grateful to Sanjay for giving me such a oncein-a-lifetime role. I felt renewed as a person too," she exults.
With Black riding so high in critical opinion, Rani's natural performance as the small town Vimi in quest of a better life in Bunty aur Babli has perhaps not garnered the appreciation it deserved, but audiences across the country enjoyed her performance thoroughly. She smiles a full lovely smile that lights up her amber eyes and says, "I love being appreciated. I need the ego boost as an actor and seeing the audience respond is a high. I often sneak into theatres and watch the audience response to my scenes. I understand what they want…" Perhaps it is in this that the answer lies – when one tries to understand the magic of her appeal.
Something about her, an ingenuous, cleareyed honesty about her acting that shines through, effortless though it may seem. "Focusing on work is like meditation. If I am not shooting, I am planning my shoot, and otherwise meeting people, or looking after my family. I keep myself busy," she adds.
She's learnt her lessons well. Chiefly, that to work hard all the time is th e only answer to an existential query that one might have; that banking on anyone but herself would be foolish as, "everyone I meet is driven by monetary considerations and little else…", and not to analyse life too much, but to live in the moment. It helps her cope with embarrassing media speculations regarding affairs of the heart, and equally irritating questions about her cousin Kajol.
She shrugs, "I just go on. Even when I look in the mirror, I don't fret over the details, it's the overall effect that matters. I also tend to see only the character I am playing." In the last two years though, she has been doing a lot of note-taking in terms of make-up and costumes. All of a sudden, the down-to-earth actor who never paid much attention to the externals, is working with five topnotch designers – Sabyasachi, Manish Malhotra, Loveleen, Shalini and Aki Narula! "I had to work hardest on my look in Black – but there Sanjay was very clear about what he wanted. I was just clay in his hands," she states.
The year 2006 will see her completing two high-profile projects – Karan Johar's Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna and Ravi Chopra's Babul, apart from working in Shah Rukh Khan's next film and a Yashraj Films project. So why is she deliberately limiting her canvas, not moving out of the chocolate box factory to try anything more gritty in parallel cinema?
She says earnestly, "Why would I need an Aparna Sen film to showcase my talent? I have been loved and appreciated by the masses and classes alike in films like Black. Sanjay made an art subject within a commercial format. I love working with Aamir and Shah Rukh, with Yashji, Aditya Chopra, Shaad Ali… I'm looking for different roles, not different contexts."
And in the meantime, she is renovating her house, going shopping for her mother, waiting for her brother's child to arrive in May, going to church – working hard at being happy. The people who meet Rani are often flustered by her composure, her wholesome 'I'm your friend' kind of projection, her correct attitude; and they wonder how she can be so 'nice' all the time. But then she gives you that amused, enigmatic smile, and you know that this is Rani. She is what she appears to be, for you become what you want to be.