Happy Birthday, Rani Mukerji: Dil Bole Hadippa @40
Bollywood actress Rani Mukerji still manages to rule hearts as she celebrates her 40th birthday today.
As Rani turns a year older today, here's a look at her journey in pictures.
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Bollywood actress Rani Mukerji still manages to rule hearts as she celebrates her 40th birthday today. It seems like only yesterday when the actress took Bollywood by storm as Tina in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. She became more selective with her movies and can still give actresses much younger than her a run for their money.
As Rani turns a year older today, here's a look at her journey in pictures. -
Rani comes from a film-oriented Bengali family. Her late father Ram Mukherji founded the Filmalaya Studios while mother Krishna was a playback singer. Her brother Raja is a film producer-turned-director. Her maternal aunt Debashree Roy is a renowned Bengali actress.
Rani's cousins are actresses Kajol, Sharbani and Tannishaa and director Ayan Mukerji. -
After a two year hiatus, Rani was cast as the glamorous Tina in Karan Johar's debut movie as a director Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), opposite Shah Rukh Khan and cousin Kajol. And the rest, as they say, is history!
She also won a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the movie. -
In 2001, Rani starred in Abbas Mustan's romantic drama Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, co-starring Salman Khan and Preity Zinta.
The actress next played the lead in Kunal Kohli's romanctic-drama Mujhse Dosti Karoge (2002), with Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor. It was the first of her many collaborations with Yash Raj Films. -
Rani then starred in Shaad Ali's critically-acclaimed Saathiya (2002), opposite Vivek Oberoi. She won a Filmfare Critics' Award for Best Performance, and among several other nominations, received her first Best Actress nomination at the Filmfare. The film proved to be a turning point in Rani's career.
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Next up was the romantic comedy Hum Tum (2004), opposite Saif Ali Khan, which became one of the biggest hits of the year. The film, based on the 1989 film When Harry Met Sally, was directed by Kunal Kohli. Rani finally received her first Filmfare Best Actress Award.
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The actress was offered the lead role in Mira Nair's Hollywood film The Namesake but turned it down because the shooting schedule clashed with that of Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006). The film with an ensemble cast had her share screen space with Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Preity Zinta and Kirron Kher.
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Rani's first 2007 release, Ta Ra Rum Pum, where she played a pianist-turned-housewife, was a semi-hit.
Critical and commercial failures like Pradeep Sarkar's drama Laaga Chunari Mein Daag and Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Saawariya failed to do justice to Rani's talent. -
In 2014, Rani Mukerji featured as a police officer in Yash Raj Films' Mardaani. The film was a sleeper hit and gained appreciation for addressing the hard hitting subject of human trafficking in an apt way. Post Mardaani, Rani was invited worldwide to speak on the subject of women safety.
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Rani and filmmaker Aditya Chopra have been one of Bollywood's most-secretive couples. And therefore, it came to no one's surprise when she married him in Italy in 2014. The wedding was a family and close-friends event only. Even post her marriage, Rani Mukerji, who has retained her maiden name, has hardly even been photographed with her husband.
