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Rani Mukerji remembered her mother, Krishna Mukerji, reacting to her screen test for her first movie, Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat (1996). Despite its lack of financial success, the movie kickstarted her career. In less than a year, the actor was appearing in movies that helped define her late 1990s and early 2000s in the film industry. Rani Mukerji said that her mother requested the film's producer not take her because it would 'ruin his film and go through losses.'

Rani Mukerji told news agency ANI that her mother, Krishna Mukherjee, told producer Salim Akhtar straight out after her first screen test that her daughter's performance could make the movie a failure. She said, "For my mother, it was like, 'You do it and see how it goes.' But after my first screen test, she found me so bad that she told the producer, 'I think you'll ruin your film by taking my daughter. You'll face losses. You shouldn't take her."

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Rani Mukerji continued by saying that even Salim's (Akhtar) uncle was eager to sign her but her mother cleary stated she wasn't performing a 'good job.'

The National Award winning actor also disclosed how Ram Mukerji, her father, had responded to her desire to pursue a career in movies. "He (father Ram Mukherjee) was not keen because at that time, it wasn't very normal for children of film families to take up acting, especially girls. It was more the men who used to follow the profession, not like today, when all the children are so motivated to follow their parents' footsteps. That time it was slightly different."

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Rani Mukerji continued, "I don't think the film industry, in general, looked like a very feasible option to pursue as a career back then. Like, even while I was growing up, I don't think it was something to be very proud of to say in school that I'm from a film family," she shared.

 
 
 
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Rani Mukerji's Debut Movie And Career

Rani Mukerji portrayed Mala, a young teacher who marries a wealthy boy named Raj, in the 1997 film Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat. The actor made her debut with Shadab Khan. She had previously made her film debut in Bengali, but this was her big Bollywood debut.

Black, Mardaani, Hichki, No One Killed Jessica, and Mrs. Chatterjee vs. Norway are just a few of the movies that made the actor famous. She is married to producer and filmmaker Aditya Chopra, who also serves as head of Yash Raj Films (YRF). For her role in the movie Mrs. Chatterjee vs. Norway, Rani took home her first National Award this year for Best Actress.

Rani Mukerji will next be seen in Mardaani 3, which is scheduled to be released in theaters in February 2026. She will reportedly star in King, which also features Deepika Padukone, Suhana Khan, and Abhishek Bachchan. An official confirmation is still pending, though.