Actress Rani Mukerji made her acting debut in the 1990s and has enjoyed a long and successful journey in the film industry. She has stood out not just for her craft, but also for her distinctive voice. Ahead of the release of Mardaani 3, Rani Mukerji sat down with friend and filmmaker Karan Johar to reminisce about her three-decade-long journey in cinema. Rani got emotional as she credited Karan Johar for allowing her real voice to shine in one of his most ambitious and successful films, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.
Rani Mukerji gets emotional
Talking to Karan Johar at a special event, Rani Mukerji recalled that Aamir Khan had explained to her during the shoot of Ghulam that her voice was not considered apt for the film and that someone else would dub it. Rani said the decision was upsetting for her. “I could not show the fact that I was upset because you need to be a team player when you are part of a film. Even if there are personal disappointments, it does not matter if the intent is true for the film,” she shared.
Rani then got emotional and held back her tears as she credited Karan Johar for not dubbing her voice in her breakthrough film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. “I really owe this to Karan. When we were shooting for the trailer of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, I remember you asked me whether I had dubbed my voice in my first film and if I had a problem with it. I said no, I did dub my voice. You said, ‘I love your voice!’ I still remember that moment. Thanks to you, Karan, I could retain my voice,” she said.
Karan Johar got up, kissed Rani on her forehead, and said that her distinctive voice is a big part of her legacy as an actor.
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Rani on her family letting her choose the acting path
The actress made her debut with the film Raja Ki Aayegi Baaraat. The offer came from their family friend and filmmaker Salim Akhtar, and her mother encouraged her to give it a shot. She recalled her mother saying, “You know, Salim (Akhtar) uncle is a family friend who’s offered you this opportunity. Why don’t you take it up and see how it goes?”
It was only years later that Rani realised her mother was trying to improve the family’s financial situation. “I never realised that my mom was probably finding a way to make the financial situation in the house better. They knew that if I did well, maybe things would improve. But at that point, I didn’t see it from that angle,” she said.
She added, “At that time, I just thought it was very nice of my mom to say, try this out. If it doesn’t work out, you can go back to your studies and do what you always wanted to do.”
