The 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), currently being held in Goa, saw Rani Mukerji in conversation in a session titled ‘Delivering Compelling Performances’, where the actor, on a high after the success of her film Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway earlier this year, spoke about ageism, what accounts for her longevity in the business and what’s that one film she regrets not doing. Sitting in the audience, t2 took notes. Excerpts.

A rare actress with longevity

Rani Mukerji is one of the few female actors who is still able to shoulder films. She had a hit earlier this year in Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway and is perhaps the only Bollywood actress to have a franchise — the Mardaani films — to her name. How does she combat ageism and continue to remain a compelling brand?

“It’s all happened consciously,” said Rani. “But the audience has also loved me and accepted me over the years. So they have, in fact, helped me break the ageism barrier and I promise to my audience that I will work till I am 80, for sure. I am not hanging up my boots,” she promised, the audi radiating with that familiar raspy Rani laugh.

An actor’s age should never be a parameter for judgment, believes Rani. “In popular cinema, you want to see young people on the screen all the time because that’s what compels the youth to go and watch a film. The trick is to not be in a delusional, warped land of your own and believe that you are always going to be young,” said Rani, straight and simple.

“But to accept your age and to accept roles that suit your age is also important for the audience to accept you in those kind of characters. So it has always been a conscious decision to be able to give my audience something that will be palpable for them as well. If I had to play a college student today, I could play one, but I have to also show them that I am a mother and at the age of 40, I have probably decided to go back to college. You have to give them a logical reason as to why you are playing that particular part and what is your age in that part,” she reasoned.

Rani was cognisant of the fact that looks are important for an actor. “You have to look after yourself and look good for the audience. My entire life’s focus is to look like how I used to look 20 years ago and keep looking like this all my life. When an audience pays money to come in, they also want to see a nice-looking face.”

“I also take intervals and do my work. The audience has kept me going for the last 27 years and I am hoping that the same audience keeps me going for the next 27 years,” she smiled, to loud cheers and claps.

Playing characters with indeterminate age

A characteristic of Rani’s career of almost three decades has been the fact that she has often played characters whose age has not been of any consequence to the story. “I think my height helps. I am not too tall. So I kind of fit into roles of all ages. Also, after eating fish and rice, Bengalis have certain genes!” laughed Rani, in acknowledgement of the fact that she could play roles of any age.

“In my third film itself, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, I played a mom. I have tried to not give importance to the age of my characters. So when an audience watches me on screen, they don’t think of Rani Mukerji... they actually see my character and they believe that I am that character. I work hard towards making those characters different in terms of how they look, how they talk, how they walk. I believe that body language also makes a lot of difference in terms of how you perceive a particular person. I can be Tina (from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai). At the same time, I can be Alisha from Ghulam. I can be Riya Kapoor from Hum Tum and I can also be Michelle McNally from Black and, of course, Dil Bole Hadippa, where I play a boy.”

Being unconventional

Rani said that the trust that the audience has in her choices has given her huge confidence and also allowed her to opt for unconventional picks. “When I was narrated Hum Tum, Adi (Aditya Chopra) and Kunal (Kohli), who were the producer and director respectively, were convinced that I would say ‘no’ to the script. That’s because of the unconventional last scene where a woman takes a call with a man and says: ‘It’s fine that I have made love with you but that doesn’t mean that I am going to marry you because of that. We need to marry for the right reasons.’ I think that was very path-breaking at that point of time because those kind of scenes or those kind of roles for women were not being made.

“But when I did accept the role and I said: ‘I love Hum Tum and I love the way the character turns out,’ they were also pretty shocked with my decision because maybe I gave the impression that I am very conservative... I come from a family where I might not be able to accept something like that. But I am today’s woman and I have always tried to portray strong Indian women characters because when people see our films, it is a window towards what India is, through our characters.”

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna is often referred to as a film ahead of its time, which Rani also counts as “an important film” in her career.
“It was very important to talk about a woman’s want and a woman’s choice. People give less importance to it when it comes to a woman being in love. What is important during marriage for a lot of people and their families mostly is if the man is settled, if he comes from a good family, but the physical aspect or the physical chemistry is not taken too much into account. A woman is never asked: ‘Are you attracted to this man? Would you like to marry him?’” said Rani, raising a pertinent, yet rarely discussed, point.

In the 2006 film, directed by Karan Johar, Rani played a married woman who, though in a seemingly happy marriage, falls in love with Dev (Shah Rukh Khan), who is also married. With each other, the two experience a certain kind of love, intimacy and chemistry that they didn’t feel with their respective spouses. “Karan was bold enough to make a film like that at that time. For me, it’s important to stand by strong films and strong roles. Sometimes you might not get the kind of audience you want, but in the history of Indian cinema, this film will always be remembered.”

“Also to feel love for somebody like Shah Rukh comes very easily to me”,” she laughed, referring to a friendship that has stood the test of time.

‘The only film that I can say that was unfortunate that I couldn’t be part of was Lagaan’

Rani was offered Lagaan, but she couldn’t do it because her dates were already booked for another film and Aamir Khan, who turned producer with the 2001 watershed film, wanted the entire cast and crew to be stationed at Bhuj for six months.

“I had already signed a film before that which was for about 20 days. But Aamir was like: ‘Rani, I won’t be able to let you come back even for those 10-15 days. Because it would be unfair for me not to let the others travel back and forth’,” said Rani. “I had to let go of the film and then the sad thing was that Aamir told me later: ‘I myself travelled to Bombay some 20 times during the shoot!’”