Just because I got married and had a baby, nothing changed in me: Rani Mukerji

Actor calls out Bollywood’s double standard against female actors who are married

By the early 2000s, Rani Mukerji had pretty much taken over Bollywood. Jumping from one hit to another, the A-list actor even took on the riskiest role of that time: Michelle McNally in 2005’s Black (2005) and needless to say, it was the performance of a lifetime. Since then, Rani has been effortlessly daring in her film choices.

Her latest release Hichki proves this. The film marked Rani’s comeback to cinema after four long years and boy, what a comeback it has been! As she revels in the film’s success, the green-eyed beauty is shattering the notion that a female actor’s career is over once she has gotten married and started a family.

PHOTO: INDIAN EXPRESS

In a recent interview with The Indian Express, Rani openly called out Bollywood’s double standards when it comes to married stars. “This time, success meant a lot more to me because there some prejudices that come with married actresses and those who are also mothers. They are made into dead commodities,” began the Kuch Kuch Hota Hai star.

“To actually have an audience shower so much love on you and say, ‘We don’t care you are married or a mother. We just want to see you on screen...’ That validation matters a lot because I got married and had a baby but nothing changed in me. I am the same actor.”

According to Rani, it is unfair that the same stigma is not attached to married male actors as well. “I don’t know why people think that once we want to have a life of our own, we have to give up on our other loves. Actors have successful careers and lead normal lives. Only actresses are made to delay marriage.”

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Fortunately, Rani was not advised against marriage when she decided to take the plunge. “No, this wasn’t the case for me because my parents are very different. I never wanted to be an actor but my mom said, ‘If you don’t like it, don’t do it.’ That shows there was never any pressure. It was only when I found love in acting that I continued,” she said. “Then I waited for love to happen. It was important for me to get married to someone I love and respect.”

Rani continued, “In this profession, you get people whom you can love but respect is far and rare. This was my criteria and Adi [producer Aditya Chopra] is someone I have always respected. This is rare in the film industry – a place where people respect you only for a Friday.”

PHOTO: INDIAN EXPRESS

Straightforward as always, Rani openly stated that she thinks questions about working post marriage would not have been directed her way had Hichki not proved so successful. “See, my opinion wouldn’t have mattered had Hichki not been a success. So, it’s never the actor. It’s the audience because as an actor I will always give my 100% like I gave before I became a mother,” she said.

Asked if she remembers the exact time when she fell in love with acting, Rani responded, “After Mujhse Dosti Karoge and Saathiya.”

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