During a recent conversation, Rani Mukerji took a trip down memory lane, including her debut film chance and more.
Rani Mukerji is one of the phenomenal actresses in the Bollywood film industry. Over the years, she won several accolades, including a National Film Award and eight Filmfare Awards. Currently, she is on a promotional spree for her film, Mardaani 3. Earlier, the action thriller was scheduled to release on February 27, 2026. But now, according to the latest reports, Mardaani 3 is all set to hit the theatres on January 30, 2026. In a recent conversation, Rani took a trip down memory lane.
In a recent conversation with Karan Johar, Rani Mukerji opened up about growing up in a Bengali household where it was assumed that she would follow a traditional path. She revealed that her dad never imagined that she would work or build a career of her own. She highlighted that her parents thought that it was only her brother’s responsibility to work. She added that her parents wanted to marry her off at a very young age, but destiny had other plans for her. She was quoted as saying:
"Growing up, I think it was never really something that occurred to my dad that I’m going to go ahead in life and will work and do stuff like that. I think it was more of a boy’s responsibility. I think that responsibility, I think they saw through my brother. I think with me, it was very clear. They were wanted to get me married at a very young age. But destiny had other plans for me."
During the same conversation, Rani shared that things began to change when she got the chance to work on her debut film, Raja Ki Aayegi Baaraat. Recalling the moment, the Mardaani 3 star mentioned it was her mom who encouraged her to take up the offer. However, at first she couldn’t figure out why her mom wanted that, but over the years she understood that her mom had been looking for a way to improve their family’s financial situation. She was quoted as saying:
"'You know, Salim (Akhtar) uncle is a family friend who’s offered you this thing. Why don’t you take it up and see how it goes?' I never realised that probably my mom was probably finding a way to make the financial situation in the house better. Because they knew that if I do well in this thing, maybe things would be better. But probably at that point in time, I didn’t see it from that angle."
Further in the conversation, Rani opened up about her doubts regarding her career choice years back when she was a teenager. Just like other teenagers, she also considered other career options. However, it was her mom’s reassurance that gave her confidence. The Mardaani 3 actress shared that her mom said that if acting doesn’t work out, then she could also try her luck in studies. She was quoted as saying:
"At that point, I just thought it was very nice of my mom to say that, try this out. If it doesn’t work out, you can go back to your studies and you can always go back to doing what you wanted to do."
Rani Mukerji will be seen reprising her role in the action thriller, Mardaani 3. Once again, the audience will watch her as female cop 'Shivani Shivaji Roy'. According to a report by Filmibeat, Rani also has Shah Rukh Khan’s film, King, in the pipeline.
What are your thoughts on Rani Mukerji's revelation? Let us know.
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