Rani Mukerji - the dusky Bangla beauty, the cousin of another Bangla talent packed with attractive features named Kajol - born on March 21, 1978 in Mumbai, in a family already associated to film industry. She is the daughter of a Bangla playback singer, Krishna Mukherjee and a retired Bangla film director Ram Mukherjee who founded and owns ‘Filmalaya Studios’. Rani has a younger brother, Raja Mukherjee, a director now turned producer.

At age 14, she faced the celluloid camera for the first time while acting in a Bangla movie ‘Biyar Phool’ in 1992, directed by her father. She also tried out her hands at singing, but soon she realized that with her husky voice she would never become a good singer. As a struggler, she faced many difficulties due to her voice which was considered unsuitable for a typical Indian film heroine.

After completing her education with Maneckji Cooper High School, Juhu, and Mithibai College, Mumbai, she entered Bollywood with an unsuccessful debut by starring in ‘Raja Ki Ayegi Baraat’ in 1997. When this film bombed on box office, she changed her name from Rani Mukherjee to Rani Mukerji on the advice of some numerologist. In the same year, with her new name, or at least the new spelling, she was approached by Amir Khan to pair up opposite him in ‘Ghulam’. This movie made her a star over night.

With the success of ‘Ghulam’, Rani clicked the tinsel town with a big bang. These were the days when Karan Johar was searching for a talent to star with Shah Ruhk Khan. In 1998, he signed Rani for ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ and the rest is history. This film, as expected of Karan Johar, proved a huge hit. Thereafter, Rani got confirmed as a leading lady of Indian film industry. She started giving sleepless nights to many co-heroines and showed the exit door to a few instead. In 2002, Rani’s ‘Saathiya’ opposite Vivek Oberoi became another big hit of her career.

While no looking back, she delivered hits after hits for years. However, then comes a phase when her films started loosing audience. The competition became fierce as fresher faces continued to pump in fresher air in Bollywood. Hence her latest movie ‘No One Killed Jessica’ did not do well at box office. Notwithstanding, she still got some projects in hand. Rani is also fond of gracing the ramp. She appears on and off to showcase dresses designed by her friend Sabyasachi Dutta. Though she loves to dress up in saris and is often seen in the same at most of the occasions, she likes to be in casual western outfits in her private life.

Rani is still not married yet her name has been associated with producer and director Aditya Chopra for sometime. Besides, she was also bracketed with Govinda when they both stayed together in Switzerland for three weeks during the shooting of ‘Had Kar Di Ap Ne’. However, later on, they both denied any such rumors.

Being a philanthropist, this Bangla sweetheart donated her prize money worth Rs. Half-a-Million to Holy Family Hospital, Mumbai, while appearing in ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ in 2000. In 2002, the then Pakistani president Parvaiz Musharraf undertook an official visit to India. He hosted a dinner in honour of distinguished personalities in Delhi. Amongst others like Amitabh Bachan and Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukerji was also invited to the party.

While recalling an event in his famous TV show ‘Coffee With Karan’, this director transpired that he looked for an option to do a voice over for Rani in ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’ because he thought her voice could be disliked by the audience, but on Rani’s insistence he changed his mind and screened the film with her original husky voice. Now the same husky voice is totally accepted and considered an added beauty to her personality. Rani Mukerji has received several awards for her acclaimed performances including best actress and best supporting actress. Her movie ‘Black’ with Amitabh Bachan has also won several international awards.