Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 1 : Bollywood actress and National Award winner Rani Mukerji, who belongs to a star-studded family, believes that the acting profession has become a more feasible career option for youngsters than it was when she began her journey.
Rani Mukerji is the daughter of the late filmmaker Ram Mukherjee and playback singer Krishna Mukherjee. She is the cousin sister of Bollywood actress Kajol and the wife of director and producer Aditya Chopra, who is also the chairman of Yash Raj Films (YRF).
Rani Mukerji, who garnered fame from films like 'Black', 'Mardaani', 'Hichki', 'No One Killed Jessica', and Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway', says that her father was not keen on her becoming an actor as it wasn't at that time "very normal" for children of film families to take up acting.
"He (father Ram Mukherjee) was not keen because at that time, it wasn't very normal for children of film families to take up acting, especially girls. It was more the men who used to follow the profession, not like today, when all the children are so motivated to follow their parents' footsteps," Rani said in an interview with ANI.
"That time it was slightly different. I don't think the film industry, in general, looked like a very feasible option to pursue as a career back then. Like, even while I was growing up, I don't think it was something to be very proud of to say in school that I'm from a film family. It was very different at that time," she added.
Rani Mukerji said her mother, though, was open about her taking the acting profession. The actress humorously shared her mother's first reaction to her first screen test.
"So for my mother, it was like you do it and see how it goes. Though, after my first screen test, she found me so bad that she told the producer 'I think you'll ruin your film by taking my daughter. You'll go through losses. Better you don't take her'," the actress recalled.
"Because the producer was very keen to sign me, Salim uncle (Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat producer)....But my mom was smart enough to understand that I was not doing a good job. So she was like, I don't think you should take her," she added.
Rani debuted in the film industry with two movies, 'Biyer Phool' and 'Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat', with the former being a directorial venture of her late father, Ram Mukherjee. Both were released on the same day in 1996.
After two decades in the film industry, the actress is glad that people's perception of the acting profession has changed.
"I think times have changed, atmosphere is different today. I think more and more young people are motivated to become actors. Not only from the industry, but even from outside the industry," Rani Mukerji said.
The 'Hichki' actress believes that the perception of actors' personas in the film industry has also changed.
"It's become feasible, I would say, a career option for a lot of people, and they look up to cinema not the way it used to be looked upon at that time. That time, movie stars were looked upon more as probably nymphs or Apsara and larger than life. Now it's become more regular person can also be acting in the films," she said.
Rani Mukerji won her first National Award this year for Best Actress for her performance in the film 'Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway.'
Directed by Ashima Chibber, the film stars Rani Mukerji as Mrs Chatterjee and also features Anirban Bhattacharya, Neena Gupta, and Jim Sarbh in prominent roles.
Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway is based on the real-life story of Sagarika Chakraborty and Anurup Bhattacharya, an Indian couple living in Norway, whose children were taken away by Norwegian authorities in 2011.
Rani plays Debika, a mother who challenges an unfamiliar legal system to regain custody of her children. The film highlights the cultural misunderstandings between Indian parenting traditions and Western child welfare systems.