Rani Mukerji Gets Candid On Jio Saavn No Filter Neha Season 4 With Neha Dhupia

Jyothi Venkatesh

Where do you derive your sense of punctuality from?

I think I get my discipline from my dad because I used to watch him very closely as a kid when he used to go for work. He was very very particular about his timing. I think thats something I have picked up from my dad, definitely not my mom. She is never on time anywhere. She’s like the flight will wait na. Why are we going. God knows! From her mother I think.

What is your take on using cuss words?

I do it too and I love it because my parents would do that too. And I get it from my parents. It’s just the way it is. So the cuss words come like hi. Actually my husband, I’ll tell you interesting thing, when my husband first met me outside of the professional realm, I think we were in Goa and I was there for my birthday with my parents and he coincidently was in the same hotel and you know how it is when you know a person so you be polite and say okay hi, it’s my birthday so please come and obviously he had no interest because he is not the kind of a person but also out of courtesy he felt that if I don’t go they might feel really offended or something so he landed up during dessert time. So when he came, and my parents were there and we were talking and they were using the cuss words normally and Adi thought he did a double take, did I actually hear her parents say something and then when he heard my parents use those words, it was just by the way so he’s like oh she gets it from here. Yeah I think what happens is when you use cuss words somewhere in your heart, you’re releasing that angst from inside your body and you start looking really beautiful. My parents look so gorgeous all the time.

Who according to you nails the airport looks?

I think Sonam dresses up really well. I think Kangana dresses up really well. Bebo dresses up really well. You know actually Lolo has been one of my all time favourite people who dresses up really impeccably. I think Lolo for years, it’s not today, she always dressed really well.

Who according to Rani Mukherji nails the gym looks?

Bebo. Bebo is my all time favourite in everything.

Who according to Rani Mukherji are Relationship goals!

I think Anushka and Virat are really sweet.

Travel goals according to you?

Mine. What I take on my phones.

According to Rani, someone who is forever gorgeous!

MY daughter, always gorgeous. I’m a fan

How do you save Adira from getting papped!

I don’t send her to Bandra. She doesn’t cross Juhu. They are just roaming everywhere on bikes. Just don’t live in Bandra and don’t move out of Bandra anywhere, you’ll be fine.

How do you deal with success and failures in the industry?

You have to deal with it, you have no choice. See the rescue measure is only one thing, that I believe that nothing is permanent, everything is temporary. So your failures are temporary, your successes are temporary. So why would you be bothered about something that is meant to be temporary, it’s a cycle you know, it’s a change, it’s a constant change.

Did you ever audition?

Yes, for my first film. It was horrible. It was really bad because after that my mum actually told the producer, don’t sign her. And she was a friend of the producer. And at that time I think I was giving my 9th grade so Salim uncle basically wanted to cast me in his movie and he told my mum that I think Rani has got a very photogenic face and I think she should be in films. So to keep matters short, when Salim uncle came home and offered me ‘Aa Gale Lag Jaa’ for some strange reason I started crying because you know I was in a school in Juhu and being filmy was not considered very hip and cool those days. Its like why would I want to be in films. So I didn’t go for the audition, never. And then finally after my 12th grade, Salim uncle again came back because he was making this film called ‘Raja Ki Aayegi Baarat’, he had just produced a film with Aamir and Mamta called ‘Baazi’ which was directed by Ashutosh Gowarikar. So next he was doing this film called ‘Raja Ki Aayegi Baarat’ and for some strange reason he decided that he wants to go with a new face. And by that time I was a little more mature because I was in my 12th grade so this time when the offer came, my mum straight away came and told me see opportunity doesn’t come and knock you on your door everyday, this has come to you, you should be grateful let’s see how it goes and if you don’t like it, don’t do it, you can be back to doing what you want to do. But let’s not have this situation in your life that you got an opportunity and you didn’t take it and then later you’ll regret it, at least do it, be fearless in that sense. So I said okay as a 12th grader I thought chalo year let me just do a film and I thought I’ll get into law and I’ll become a lawyer but uske pehle let me just, my mom is insisting and I’m a good daughter, let me just listen to her. Karte karte Salim uncle told my mom that haan this is all fine but lets just see how Rani looks in front of the camera, we’ll see how it goes. So that’s when they made me wear Mamta Kulkarni’s boots, Mamta Kulkarni’s short skirt, Mamta Kulkarni’s clothes from Baazi, because you know how its is na picture khatam hoti hai toh peti mein chali jaati hai, and those clothes are reused. So I was like what are these clothes, I have never worn these clothes ever in my life and they made me say some lines and they gave me one page long lines and they put glycerin in my eyes and I’m like who are these people putting horrible things in my eyes. I was like what is happening, no I never want to do this. And I was really bad and they thought that I looked really photogenic. The Cameraman, the director, Ashok Gaikwad and Salim uncle, they all three were really happy with the way I looked and they said if she prepares herself, I’m sure she can do it.

Your biggest learning from your initial acting classes?

When I went to Roshan Taneja’s classes and I do remember that very clearly even till date because it had such a big impact in my life that I do remember it today after 24 years you know where I understood that there is no method of really learning acting, you have to feel it. It has to be inside you, you have to feel the emotion and then I went for these classes and Chandrachoor Singh and Jimmy Sheirgill, they were my seniors and they were debuting with ABCL films’ ‘Tere Mere Sapne’, so they were getting better at the thing so they were already there. I remember Roshan Taneja telling me that watch Chandrachoor, see how he performs and stuff like that so I remember all those things very clearly. And then I started my first film after that one month of being with Roshan Sir which I think really helped me because somewhere I was able to lose a little bit of my inhibition, because I was shy, I was an introvert. In the mahurat when I gave my first shot, something clicked because I had said my lines without any hesitation and everybody clapped after that, you know that typical mahurat shot that used to happen at that time. And after that it was no looking back for me. Then it just came naturally to me, then after one by one by one by one. So you have to thank my mum for that. Its like the way god had planned this for me. I cant think of anything else because like you know this debate on nepotism that people from the industry of course get opportunity which I do agree because you are close to the circle that is making films. But at he end of the day its the audience that either approves of you or disapproves of you. So anybody can be from an industry but not necessarily is going to be successful.

How did you prep for her role as Shivani Shivaji Roy!

I do hear actors say that they work very hard and they do this and they do that and I really feel great and appreciate and I cannot say those things because I genuinely don’t work towards creating that because it just comes naturally to me. Like somewhere when I observe a person, like for Shivani’s character, I met a lot of female cops, I met a lot of commissioners, I met a lot of crime branch officers for Mardaani 1 to Mardaani 2 and I observed them, I spoke to them, I kind of saw their mannerisms, I saw how they walk, how they talk, how their gait is and I just try to in a strange way copy them, impersonate them and it just comes to me and when I think of Shivani Shivaji Roy, all those women who I have met through my research they just come showering at me, its like an amalgamation of all those officers. I don’t go for therapy every because I don’t take my roles so seriously after the camera switches off.

Do you believe that women need to protect themselves?

I have been saying this from Mardaani 1, lot of times people have misconstrued what I have spoken but today everybody on every platform is saying exactly what I have been saying for the past 4-5 years that somewhere, debates, conversations changing mindsets thats a pattern going to keep happening but what we need to do till such times is we need to protect ourselves, we need to have a safety net and today we all are saying that we cannot trust anybody because there are times where the crimes are happening to them from people who they trust. So we cannot trust anybody but ourselves no, we can at least trust ourselves and our own strengths. So if we can know few self defence tricks, if we can be aware of a problem. Firstly, I feel people have to change their attitude like oh my god! I don’t want to hear about this, oh my god this is very disturbing. No! We have to know! We have to educate our children that this is the reality, this is where we are and we need to be aware so that they are aware because poor thing, if they are not aware they won’t know what they are heading at you know. If there is a threat somewhere, they won’t ever be able to recognise it. That is disturbing. So you know we have to protect our daughters, today you have a daughter, I have a daughter. I’m constantly telling Adira, Adira you’re the bravest, Adira you’re the strongest, there is nobody more powerful than you, you have more muscles than papa. And I’m inculcating that in her brain from now only because I don’t want anybody in this world to ever tell her that she is not powerful, that she is not strong enough.

Between Aditya Chopra and you, who according to you, has the worse temper?

Who, according to you, between Aditya Chopra and you, is most in love with fashion?

Who, according to you, between Aditya Chopra and you is more affected by work?

Adi

Who, according to you, between Aditya Chopra and you loves to eat more?
Adi

Who, according to you, between Aditya Chopra and her cooks better ?
Rani

Who, according to you, between Aditya Chopra and you is more stingy?
Adi

Who, according to you, between Aditya Chopra and you, works out more?
Rani

Who, according to you, between Aditya Chopra and you is a bigger slob?
Adi

Who would you recast in the Kuch Kuch Hota Hai?

Karan, Gauri and Putlu

Who, according to you, is the pair that makes for the perfect casting of Befikre!
Ranbir and Alia