Rani Mukerji ( born March 21, 1978 in Bengal, India) is an Indian film actress. She is the one of the most popular actress in the industry. Since her first break on celluloid in 1996, the actress has appeared in nearly 40 films. Today, she has emerged as one of the finest and most successful actresses of the country.

Background

Mukerji comes from a film-oriented family of Bengali origin: Her father Ram Mukerji is a retired director and her mother Krishna formerly worked as a playback singer. Her brother Raja Mukerji is also a film producer. Her maternal aunt, Debashree Roy, was a popular Bengali actress and her cousin Kajol is another successful Bollywood actress. Sharbani Mukerji is her cousin. She graduated from Maneckjee Cooper High School in Juhu. Soon afterwards, Rani received a few film offers and thus, set her foot on the Indian film-industry capital, Mumbai. From there onwards, she pursued a high-profile career in acting and became an integral part of the world's largest film-industry.

Career

Her first Hindi film was Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat (1996), which did not do well at the box office. However, her next two releases - Ghulam and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) - were hits. For the latter she received her first Filmfare Award in the Best Supporting Actress category. Mukerji was in great demand after sudden stardom and signed contracts to work in many promising projects. Unfortunately, most of the movies didn't do well at the box office. Though Badal was the sixth highest grossing film of the year 2000, her most quantitative year in terms of movies released, she was still producing more average movies than expected from her. In 2002, she re-established her fame in Saathiya which was critically and commercially successful. In 2003, she starred in Chalte Chalte opposite Shah Rukh Khan; the film was a semi-hit. 2004 was the most significant year in her career. Her performances in Yuva and the commercially successful Hum Tum earned her even more awards - the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for the former, and the Filmfare Best Actress Award for the latter. Her performance as a Pakistani lawyer in Veer-Zaara was also acclaimed and earned her many award nominations. She then became a major part of the Yash Raj Films, the biggest Bollywood production house. In 2005, Mukerji starred in four high-profile films. Bunty Aur Babli and The Rising were among the biggest grossers of the year. She received critical acclaim for every film, especially her performance in Black. She also won all the major awards for Black that year. These successes established Mukerji as one of the industry's most bankable stars. Mukerji had two releases in 2006: Karan Johar's Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, which was one of the most successful movie of the year and B.R. Chopra's Baabul. The poignant story of a widow did not shape up well with the audiences and the much hyped-movie performed poorly at the box office. The actress has been an active stage performer and participated in numerous world tours. Temptations 2004 was her most successful concert, in which she performed alongside Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta, Arjun Rampal and Priyanka Chopra. She also appeared along with various other Bollywood actors at the Closing Ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, as part of a performance showcasing Indian culture, on behalf of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, to be held in Delhi. For her one-and-a-half-minute dance act alongside Saif Ali Khan, she was reportedly paid 1.5 crore rupees, the equivalent of about 300,000 U.S. dollars.

Personal life

Gossip columnists have linked Mukerji to many industry figures, but she has strongly denied every single rumor of romance. Gossip columns have also claimed that she is feuding with one or another Bollywood actor or actress, but she strongly denies these rumors as well. Mukerji seems to lead a hard-working life, totally focused on her career. She appears in the news only for appearances at movie premieres, special events, film festivals, award ceremonies, film promotion-related proceedings, or charity work. Home is important to her: in 2006, the actress bought a new house for herself in Juhu, the interior design for which was done by Twinkle Khanna. She is very close to her niece, Mayesha whom she lovingly calls 'Mishti' (which means "sweet" in Bengali).

Controversies

In June 2005, Mukerji was widely criticized following the publication of an interview with British newspaper Desi Xpress. Mukerji was asked to name her idol and she replied, "Adolf Hitler". However, in an interview with TimesNow a year later, she denied ever mentioning Hitler's name. In November 2006, Mukerji was shooting a film in Varanasi when avid fans crowded the set. Security personnel beat the crowd back with sticks. A media storm followed as various groups insisted that Mukerji should have stopped the security guards. Mukerji later issued a guarded apology.

Commitments

Besides acting in films, Mukerji contributes to charitable causes: The Temptations 2005 show in New Delhi helped to raise funds for the National Centre For Promotional of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP), a leading disabled rights' group. Shahrukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra were also amongst the many who contributed to this cause. In 2006, Mukerji celebrated her birthday with the students of The Helen Keller Institute for the Deaf and Blind, whom she had befriended while doing research for her role as a blind and deaf girl in Black. She has also given credit for her award-winning performance in that movie to the students. Ms. Mukerji donated her prize money, her half-share of 50 lakh rupees from her 2007 appearance on Kaun Banega Crorepati with Preity Zinta, to the Holy Family Hospital. She said that this institution looks after children with heart problems which is a major setback in India.

Trivia

• Her close friends include Aamir Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Sanjay Leela Bhansali , Karan Johar and Rekha.
• Her trademarks are her light eyes and voice.
  
• She has worked six times with Shahrukh Khan, five times with Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan, and four times with Abhishek Bachchan and Preity Zinta.
  
• The actress changed the English transliteration of her surname from Mukerji to Mukerji several years ago. At the time, it was reported that she did this for numerological reasons. Recently, she has stated that numerology was not a concern; her name had been put down as Mukerji on her passport, and she wanted to be consistent.

Facts

• Rani Mukerji topped the Top Ten Bollywood Actresses' Listing for a third year in a row (2005-2007).
• In February 2006, Filmfare Magazine placed her at eighth position among the "Ten Most Powerful Names of Bollywood", an achievement she repeated from the previous year. In 2007 she was again on the list but ranked at number five.
  
• The actress was honored by a largely foreign audience of 50,000 at the Casablanca Film Festival (2005) in Morocco where four of her movies were presented.
  
• She was invited to the Toronto International Film Festival to promote her movie Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. Due to her schedule shooting of Tara Rum Pum in New York City, she opted not to go.
  
• Mukerji was a guest of honour at a state dinner to greet General Pervez Musharraf along with the Indian prime minister.
  
• Recently, on Women's International Day, a special article was released to pay tribute to Bollywood Heroines. Mukerji came in the fourth position on the Best Bollywood Actresses Ever Listing.
  
• Her first name means Queen in Hindi and Bengali.
  
• On January 9th, 2007, she was mentioned on segment "We The MEdiator" of popular T.V. show The Colbert Report. Host Stephen Colbert, mentioned her along with all the stars in bollywood today.