Rani Mukherji: The Forgotten Yet Anticipated Face of Hindi Film Industry

As her birthday is on 21 March and she is turning 46, let's unfold her journey from zero to becoming a super anticipated face in the industry

Digital Desk: Kuch Kuch Hota Hai in 1998 to Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna in 2006, Rani Mukerji dominated the big screen. Rani and Shah Rukh’s ‘Jodi’ became one of the most anticipated couples on the big screen to television scenes at the beginning of the 2000s. She gained overnight stardom with  Karan Johar’s Kuch Kuch Hota Hai in the late nineties.

As her birthday is on 21 March and she is turning 46, let's unfold her journey from zero to becoming a super anticipated face in the industry. 

Indian actress Rani Mukerji was born on March 21, 1978, and she primarily works in Hindi cinema. Known for her adaptability, she has won numerous awards, including eight Filmfare Awards. She finds herself in the list of top actresses of the Hindi film industry of the 2000s.

Raised in the Mukherjee-Samarth family, Mukerji first tried her hand at acting as a teenager, appearing in the social drama Raja Ki Aayegi Baaraat (1996) and the Bengali-language film Biyer Phool, directed by her father Ram Mukherjee. In 1998, Mukerji made her breakthrough with the romance Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and enjoyed her first financial triumph with the action movie Ghulam. After a short setback, she experienced a sea change in 2002 when Yash Raj Films cast her as the lead in the drama Saathiya.

What makes her unique?

Mukerjis has a reputation for being versatile. Her performances are frequently cited as the most recognisable and outstanding roles in Hindi films. In the early 2000s, she made a name for herself in the film industry with hits like Saathiya (2002), Chalte Chalte (2003), Hum Tum (2004), Veer Zaara (2004), Bunty Aur Babli (2005), and Black (2005), which turned out to be her best performance to date.

Personal Life

Raised by singer-songwriter Krishna Mukherjee and director Ram Mukherjee. Rani attended Maneckji Cooper High School in Juhu before enrolling at SNDT Women's University to study home science.

Her relationship with YRF chief Aditya Chopra was the subject of years of discussion, but the actress would not address it. On April 21, 2014, in a secret ceremony in Italy, Rani and Aditya tied the knot, years after the speculations initially started. Adira, the couple's first child together, was born on December 9, 2015, one year after they were married.

Breakthrough and comeback

Rani Mukerji made her big screen comeback in the 2018 drama Hichki, playing the part of Tourette syndrome sufferer Naina Mathur, a teacher. This was her first movie since taking a four-year hiatus from the business. Gopi Puthran's Mardaani 2 is one of her 2019 releases. After that, she starred in Bunty Aur Babli 2 (2022) and Mrs Chatterjee Vs. Norway (2023).