An ode to RANI MUKHERJI. Review on Rani Mukherjee

5'3'' , dusky, husky. Not the ideal traits to have for an aspiring Hindi film actress. This was Rani Mukherji.

I remember some 10 years back, I went to watch a movie. It had big stars in Shahrukh and Kajol. It was to be directed by a debutant by the name of Karan Johar. The movie was called Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. I have never been too keen on masala movies, but this one was to huge to be missed. This was the first time I got to see Rani on screen. Her performance as a sexy-sweet Tina was special. For the first time, I realized how wrong our notion of 'sexy' had been ( like urmila in rangeela). The role was short but Rani made it worthwhile. Her voice immediately caught my attention. It was different. It was as if someone had a 'bad cold'. But, it was attractive. Then, I saw her in the 'Khandal song' . That 'catwalk' of hers was stupendous.

After that I did not see a lot of her. Her movies were sinking without a trace. In between all of that came 'Hey Ram'. Kamal Hassan played Gandhi, Rani played his wife. Rani became 'Kasturba'. She was without any make-up throughout the movie. From her howls to the kiss to the silences, I watched her in awe and shock. She was mind-blowing. I thought that probably the next generation of Smita-Shabana had arrived. But, Rani was to achieve stardom in commercial cinema.

Rani was born to a producer father and a singer mother. She also has a brother. When she was young, her father had lost a lot of money in a few 'B-grade' movies. That led to a financial crunch in the family. Her mother, who had given up singing, began to pursue it again. But, things were always difficult. But Rani was protected from all of this. She was growing up into a very shy and withdrawn girl. At 14, she was offered a movie by a family friend, but her parents refused becoz they felt she was too young. But, there was always a financial lurch in the family and her brother's random business were not helping. Rani knew what she had to do. At 18, she did her first movie, 'Raja Ki Aeygi Baraat'. She played a rape victim. The movie sank, but Rani had caught the eyes of many critics. The journey had begun.

Stardom was on its way for her. KKHH and Ghulam brought her in the limelight. But, there was a dull period afterwards. Her performances were ordinary and at times, irritating. During this period her father became ill and was subsequently, hospitalized. It was a very tough period for the family.

Saathiya resurrected her. Her co-star was a newcomer, Vivek Oberoi.Her performance as a middle class girl who becomes a doctor was appreciated by critics and audiences alike. Chalte-Chalte followed. She overshadowed SRK in her potrayal of the classy and uppity wife. There was no looking back, then. She played the prim'n'proper girl in Hum Tum , an educated Pakistani lawyer in Veer Zaara ( Mush and his Begum loved her in this ), the abused wife in Yuva, the ambitious and simple girl in Bunty-Babli ( although I didn't like the movie ), a loud pr*stitute in Mangal Pandey. The critical acclaim and the box-office success made her into the indisputable no. 1 in bollywood. The industry had got its queen.

'Taara Rum Pum' and 'Baabul' underperformed. KANK got mixed reviews. And now, after LCMD being an average performer, Rani is bound to lose her no. 1 status. She is still ahead of her contemporaries, but it will be very tough to maintain that. Kareena is coming into her own, Kajol will be there in all Karan Johar movies and Aishwarya will grab headlines. The road ahead is very tough for Rani.I hope she proves me wrong.

Her next project is Konal Kohli's directorial. Kohli has been unpredictable from giving the dud MDK to the wonderful Hum Tum to the abysmal (but, superhit) Fanaa. It is Rani's last opportunity to rise again. She plays an 'angel' in the movie.

My ode to India's finest.