By Masooma M Lotia

“I don’t party, I don’t get drunk and I don’t have affairs. So all my passion goes into my work.” Rani Mukherjee

Rani Mukherjee, the dusky beauty from Bengal with her famously husky voice, million dollar smile and twinkling eyes who rules millions of hearts all over the world today didn’t have a smooth start. The stigma of being the cousin of none other than the dark beauty, Kajol was a tough one to shrug off. Kajol’s fame overshadowed her from the very start but Rani proved her mantle and became a performer of her own accord.

Born to a Bengali family on 21 March 1978, Rani made her debut in the Bollywood film industry at the tender age of eighteen. Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat was just an average film, released in 1996, yet people noticed Rani’s talent and her husky voice made a stir too.

Since her debut Rani has appeared in more than 40 movies, with her acting in several roles which got nominations for Filmfare Awards along with a host of other famed awards.

It was in 1998 when she got a chance to prove herself with two good movies with two famous heroes Aamir and Shahrukh Khan. Her beautiful and tinkling laughter became her trademark in Ghulam’s famous son “Kiya Bolti Tu” with Aamir Khan. Her role as Tina in “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai” opposite Kajol and Shahrukh Khan helped her bag her first Filmfare for Best Supporting Actress.

For another couple of years, she performed well but her movies did an average business. In 2001 she starred with Priety Zinta and Salman Khanin Chori Chori, Chupke Chupke which dealt with the topic of surrogate motherhood. She also appeared in a cameo in friend Karan Johar’s Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham. Her film with Kamal Haasan Hey Ram, was India’s entry to the Oscars. Badal did well on the commercial front and her performance in Har Dil Jo Pyaar Karega was nominated for the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award.

The year 2002 saw a reverse in her fortunes with hits like Mujhse Dosti Karoge and Saathiya. Her role as Dr.Suhani Sharma in the latter won her the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance. Of the films released in 2003, her performance in Chalte Chalte received a nomination for the Filmfare Best Actress Award.

Next came the awards for Hum Tum, the Bollywood version of the famous Hollywood movie, “When Harry Met Sally” and “Yuva” when Rani was recognized as Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress respectively. Her third movie of the year “Veer Zara” in which she actes as a Paskiatni lawyer was nominated for the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award.

By year 2005 Rani had played countless typical heroine roles and her coveted position in Bollywood’s elite film stars was confirmed, fate handed her another golden chance in the form of the Oscar –Caliber role of the blind & deaf girl in the critically acclaimed film Black. She is known to have spent several hours over the course of several days in a mental institution (where India’s often abandoned blind-deaf-dumb are deposited), where she familiarized herself with the trials and perspectives of her character. Her hard work and dedication paid off and the result shows in the film, which has been coined to be the film to cross over into Western film industry and recognized in Western film award programs.

Her success in 2005 is not limited to one film only. The comedy Bunty Aur Babli, Paheli and Mangal Pandey;The Rising hit the screens. Paheli with Shah Rukh Khan took India again to the Oscars. She was nominated for the Filmfare Best Actress Award for two of her roles the deaf-blind Michelle in Black and the notorious Vimmi alias Babli in Bunty Aur Babli. She finally won it for Black along with the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance.

In 2006, she appeared in the multi-starrer Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna which revolved around extra-marital affairs. The film was a hit overseas. In 2007, she had some moderate hits like Saawariya and Laga Chunari Mein Daag. Her only release in 2008, Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic failed to do well.

In 2009, Rani also appeared on the Tv screen worldwide in a dancing reality show DPL (Dance Premier League) as one the honorary judges along with Shamak Davar.

Though she has had her share of media gossip centering on everything from her weight, complexion to her relationships – she has come far in the film industry and has her own style and mantra – proving to be a seasoned, professional and serious actress. Testament to her talent is her ability to move away from conventional, stereotypical roles, demonstrating her acting skills in a variety of film genres, from comedy to drama or musical aesthetic films. Rani Mukherjee (also known as Rani Mukerjee as she changed her spelling to harmonize with her passport name) is a progressive actress, unwilling to be held back by stereotypes. This is apparent in the unconventional roles she has played, whether it be “Heera” the prostitute in “Mangal Pandey;The rising” or Michelle in “Black”.