Rani Mukerji, the renowned Bollywood actress, has played many unconventional roles throughout her career that have showcased her versatility and acting skills. Her recent big-screen release, Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway, has once again won the hearts of her fans as she portrays a Kolkata woman fighting for the custody of her two children in a foreign land. As Rani turns 45, let’s take a look at five of her performances in unconventional roles that have had us rooting for her.
In the 2014 Pradeep Sarkar-directed film Mardaani, Rani played the role of Senior Inspector Shivani Shivaji Roy. Shivani is a cop from the Mumbai Crime Branch who takes on a child trafficking network based in Delhi. The character was a never-seen-before avatar of Rani as she sported trousers and shirts with sleeves rolled up till the elbow, and carried a pistol. The sequel, Mardaani 2, released in 2019, saw Shivani lock horns with a contract killer and sex offender, played by Vishal Jethwa.
Rani played news anchor and journalist Meera Gaity in the 2011 Raj Kumar Gupta directorial No One Killed Jessica. After the son of an influential politician murders Jessica Lall, Meera and Jessica’s sister Sabrina Lall (Vidya Balan) join forces to bring justice to the victim. Meera’s character was confident and motivated the nation to protest against the judicial system that failed to punish the culprit after witnesses turned hostile.
Hichki, a 2018 Siddharth P. Malhotra-directed drama, saw Rani portray the character of Naina Mathur, a woman with Tourette Syndrome. The condition becomes a hurdle on her path to becoming a teacher, but Naina doesn’t let go of her dreams and lands a job in an elite school where she gets assigned as the class teacher of a notorious batch of kids from the lower income strata. Naina sets out to get all her students the education they deserve, and the ending of the movie remains memorable as all her students come to meet her on her retirement day.
In Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s 2005 film Black, Rani played the role of Michelle McNally, a girl with visual and hearing impairment. An elderly teacher, Debraj (Amitabh Bachchan), takes it upon himself to ensure that Michelle graduates from college and becomes expressive and communicative despite her disability. The drama is an inspiring tale that follows Michelle’s growth from an insolent child to a college graduate, and is inspired by activist Helen Keller’s life and her autobiography, The Story of My Life.
The love story of Veer (Shah Rukh Khan) and Zara (Preity Zinta) in the 2004 Yash Chopra directorial Veer Zara would have remained unfinished without Rani’s Saamiya Siddiqui. Saamiya is a criminal defence lawyer who is assigned the case of an Indian prisoner, Veer Pratap Singh (Shah Rukh), in Pakistan. Saamiya vows to fight for justice after hearing Veer’s story and reunites him with his long lost love Zara, who has been waiting for Veer in India for 22 years. Saamiya becomes the torchbearer of love and justice in the film and does not stop till Veer crosses the Wagah border to step into his home country.
In conclusion, Rani Mukerji is a versatile actress who has time and again proven her acting prowess with her outstanding performances. From playing a brave cop in Mardaani to portraying a woman with Tourette Syndrome in Hichki, she has essayed a diverse range of roles and has won the hearts of the audience with her acting skills.
Her performances in No One Killed Jessica and Black have been critically acclaimed, and she has also received several awards and nominations for her roles. Her latest release, Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway, has once again showcased her talent and acting range.
As Rani Mukerji turns 45, it is evident that she still has a lot to offer to the film industry. She has been a trendsetter in her own right and has been an inspiration to many. Her performances have left audiences in awe, and we can’t wait to see what she has in store for us in the future.
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