"As a teenager I was happiest when the director would say ‘pack up’ because I loved going back home but that changed. Over the years I wanted to stay back on set and perfect a shot. I evolved with my films. From being an 18 year old to now in my 40’s, it has been a learning process. It never stops"
From her 27-year-old career in Bollywood as a leading lady to acting being a constant work in progress,
Rani Mukerji
touched upon many topics in conversation with Rajeev Masand at
FICCI Frames 2024
.
Her evolution in terms of choice of cinema and process as an actor made for an interesting conversation. Excerpts...
‘You have to constantly work hard on yourself’
Attributing her longevity to the audience, she said, “Having faith in the audience and yourself is important. You have to constantly work hard on yourself to improve with each film. My motto is to better myself in each film. The audience tells us the trend and mood of what’s working. They are the reason for our longevity.”
Rani Mukerji
‘When I had started out, acting was just a means to an end’
Citing some fun anecdotes, Rani reflected upon her journey. She said, “When I started off, there were different reasons why I did films. It was not the same process as today where you read scripts and make decisions. Back then, the director producer would just tell us one line story and we accepted roles on that basis. No dialogues were given to us in advance to prepare. Story aisi shuru hoti hai, phir aisa hoga, the end. We were just told the beginning, mid and end. There wasn’t a conscious effort to even convince us to do the film. Yeh nahi toh koi aur kar lega was the perception. I was accepting films that my parents okayed. They told me today you have to go to film city, kal filmistaan, parso waha. I didn’t know any better then. Wisdom comes with age. When I started to receive fan letters as social media didn’t exist then, that’s when I realised what my audience is liking or not liking. Acting for me was just a means to an end until then. I was just trying to earn bread and butter for my family but people were giving me much more than that. They made me part of their existence and that’s when I got more serious. That’s when
Saathiya
happened. That’s when I realized there’s more to my work than merely doing a 9 to 9 shift or treating it as just a job. As a teenager I was happiest when the director would say ‘pack up’ because I loved going back home but that changed. Over the years I wanted to stay back on set and perfect a shot. I evolved with my films. From being an 18 year old to now in my 40’S, it has been a learning process. It never stops.
Indian cinema is looking inwards now
The actress was glad Bollywood and the south industry are working closely now. She said, “People used to say we are inspired but the west. Today it’s good to see that we are inspired by our own. Be it south or Hindi cinema. We are inspiring each other and becoming the best versions of ourselves.”
‘I dislike following a pattern. I follow my heart’
The actress dismissed the notion that she isn’t open to working for digital platforms. She said, “I am open to doing anything that excites me. I never follow any norms. I have been instinctive and dislike following a pattern. I follow my heart. I have to instinctively connect to a character. When I select a film, I am looking for an untold story comprising strong female characters as that’s who an Indian woman is. The story and character need to drive me and inspire me to play the part and make a mark on young minds. Growing up I sought inspiration from books, films. We need characters that we can connect with.
English (US) ·