Indian film actress Rani Mukherjee

Rani Mukerji (born Rani Mukherjee on 21 March 1978) is an Indian film actress. Born in the Mukherjee-Samarth family, she made her acting debut with a supporting role in the Bengali film Biyer Phool (1992), while still in school. She began a full-time career in Bollywood with the 1997 social drama Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat, and subsequently featured in Karan Johar's blockbuster romance Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998, she won a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress). For her work in the 2002 relationship drama Saathiya, she won her first Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress.

In 2004, her performances in the hit romantic comedy Hum Tum and the critically acclaimed drama Yuva earned her the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress awards, respectively, at the 50th Filmfare Awards. She later received unanimous praise for her portrayal of a blind, deaf and mute woman in Black (2005), for which she garnered two more Filmfare Awards: Best Actress and Best Actress (Critics' Choice). She went on to play leading roles in the comedy Bunty Aur Babli (2005) and the adult drama Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), both of which emerged as major economic successes in India and overseas. She then starred in a series of commercially unsuccessful films, a majority of which were under the Yash Raj Films banner, that led to setbacks in her career. She later earned praise for her portrayal of a headstrong journalist in No One Killed Jessica (2011, she won a Best Supporting Actress award at Filmfare) and a grieving mother in Talaash: The Answer Lies Within (2012). These accomplishments established Mukerji as a leading actress of Hindi cinema.

In addition to acting in films, Mukerji featured as a talent judge in Sony Entertainment Television's reality show Dance Premier League (2009). She is a regular stage performer and has been involved in philanthropic endeavours related to women and children. Despite constant speculation, she remains guarded about her personal life and is sometimes labelled a recluse by members of the media.

From 2007 to 2009, Mukerji featured primarily in films produced by Yash Raj Films (with the exception of Saawariya). Her first release was Siddharth Anand's melodrama Ta Ra Rum Pum, where she played Radhika Rai Banerjee, a pianist turned housewife opposite Saif Ali Khan. The film performed decently at the box office, while her performance was generally well received. Adarsh wrote, "Rani enacts the role of the mother/wife proficiently." Negative reviews, however were directed towards the film itself, with Rajeev Masand writing, "neither Saif Ali Khan nor Rani is able to make much of an impression because their characters are so unidimensional and boring." Her next release of the year was Pradeep Sarkar's drama Laaga Chunari Mein Daag alongside Jaya Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Konkana Sen Sharma and Kunal Kapoor. The film met with mixed reviews, while Mukerji was criticised for playing stereotypical roles that required her to cry often. A review carried by Indian Express noted, "Rani holds the film together, even if her part, both as the ingénue and the hooker, doesn’t have freshness." Her performance nonetheless fetched her another Best Actress nomination at Filmfare. Her final release of the year was Sanjay Leela Bhansali's tragedy Saawariya, where she essayed a smaller part of a sex-worker. The film, which featured debutants Ranbir Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor in lead roles, was a critical and commercial failure, but Mukerji's performance earned her a fifth Filmfare Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

In 2008, Mukerji was paired with Saif Ali Khan again for Kunal Kohli's Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic. This fantasy film had Mukerji play an angel who comes to Earth to help four troubled kids. The film, which flopped at the box office, met with generally positive reviews from critics. The box office failure of her recent films made Mukerji lose weight and undergo a makeover in her following release, Dil Bole Hadippa (2009). The project, co-starring Shahid Kapoor, saw Mukerji portray a cricket-obsessed Punjabi village girl masquerading as a man. The film, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival under performed at the Indian box office. A review carried by The Economic Times noted, "Mukerji's mock sob-whine-whimper do not amuse anymore. Also after a point you dislike visualizing the charming actress as the moustached male player."

Though her performances in the films during this period were generally well received, none of them performed well commercially, leading to major setbacks in her career. When questioned about working only under the Yash Raj Films banner, she said, "An actor is here to act and pick great roles and scripts. I was getting great roles from Yash Raj at that point, roles that any actor would give an arm to do. I stand by those films regardless of their fate".

In 2011, Mukerji starred in UTV Motion Pictures' semi-biographical thriller, No One Killed Jessica, based on the Jessica Lal murder case. She played the fictional character of a foul-mouthed television journalist, Meera Gaity, deeply involved with the case. In an interview with The Telegraph she said, "It was such a different role to portray. It wasn’t a role that was typical of a Hindi film heroine. Meera was more like a hero. It was a character that actually took the story forward.... Meera made a lot of things happen. It wasn’t something that I had ever done before. I actually had to play a man! " Upon release, Mukerji's performance received mostly positive reviews. The Times of India wrote, "Rani's character being fictional and glamourized seems superficial to an extent but she packs in the punch required for her dynamic character." While other critics praised her performance, with Daily News and Analysis describing it as "one of her best performances till date," several critics were less positive, including Anupama Chopra of NDTV, who called her role, "the fatal, false note in No One Killed Jessica," arguing that "The character is written superficially and Rani’s portrayal of her is equally banal. It’s all about externals. She argues a lot and proudly labels herself a bitch but her hair stays perfectly in place and in the end, she even gets to do a super-hero-like slow motion walk." The film eventually earned 49 crore(s) (US$9.0 million) and was especially noted for being a commercial success, despite the absence of any prominent male actors. Consequently, Mukerji won her third Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Mukerji followed the success of No One Killed Jessica with a leading role in Sachin Kundalkar's Aiyyaa (2012); a comedy of manners co-starring Prithviraj. She played Meenakshi Deshpande, a woman with a heightened sense of smell who develops a one-sided attraction towards Prithiviraj's character. Critically and commercially unsuccessful, Aiyyaa generated positive comments for Mukerji's performance alone. Rediff.com criticised her decision to star in the film and wrote, "Rani, as fine an actor that one gets in Bollywood, gets no support from the way her character is written but nevertheless is a joy to watch." Later that year, Mukerji earned critical appreciation for her portrayal of Roshni Shekhawat, a mother who loses her only child in a boating accident, in Reema Kagti's supernatural thriller Talaash: The Answer Lies Within. Co-starring Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor, the film proved an economic success with gross earnings of over 174 crore(s) (US$32 million). Ronnie Schieb of Variety mentioned Mukerji as "vivid" in a "quietly sympathetic role"; Saibal Chatterjee added, "A deglamorised Rani Mukerji plays her role with finesse and a great sense of empathy". She received Best Supporting Actress nominations at several award ceremonies, including Filmfare.

As of January 2013, Mukerji will star in the anthology film Bombay Talkies, in the segment directed by Karan Johar, alongside Saqib Saleem and Randeep Hooda.