Four years after Mardaani and a break post-motherhood, Rani Mukerji returns with a film with a message on March 23. On Tuesday, a glowing Rani — dressed in ripped denims and a green top — breezed through Calcutta and dropped in at the t2 office to talk about Hichki, the film directed by Siddharth P. Malhotra that highlights Tourette Syndrome. Over half an hour, Rani chatted about the importance of Hichki as a film, her two-year-old Adira and why she’s not excited about turning 40 in a week’s time!
Rani Mukerji walks in and spots a copy of a t2 edition from August 2014 where she chatted with Team t2 on her last film, Mardaani. “Oh, this was the last time we came here! I look so much better now,” she laughs. (Rani picks up the t2 issue and says, ‘I’m going to take it with me and show it to my daughter!’)
Priyanka Roy (Team t2): I watched the Hichki trailer once and then five times in a row! Have you been getting similar reactions, or better, since the trailer came out?
Rani Mukerji: Absolutely! When you do a film — and I’ve done a lot of films in the last 22 years — you kind of gauge the buzz when you meet people and they react to what they’ve seen. You can make out the level of excitement and interest. With Hichki, I’m getting those vibes. And I’m hoping that all of that comes to fruition on March 23.
Priyanka: The first thing that strikes one about your character Naina Mathur, despite her condition of Tourette Syndrome, is how fearless she is. And you’ve always been fearless — in your choice of films, in your interviews, in just the way you are. Did that hook you about her and in what ways are you like Naina?
Rani: When I talk about this in other states, it sounds very clannish, but as Bengalis, right from when we are born, we are introduced to so many strong female personalities…. From Durga and Kali to Lakshmi and Saraswati and Chandi and Jagaddhatri. In the Bengali home, we celebrate ‘Ma’ from such a young age and hear stories of the victory of good over evil. My dad used to call me ‘Ma’ from when I was a baby. Those things have made me the kind of personality I became.
The roles that I green-lit have always been very strong, modern Indian women roles, where I’ve portrayed women in a very strong light, in a very empowered light. I have never been attracted to a role which was weak or meek. It would take me a lot of courage to do a role like that because it doesn’t go with my personality.
In these last two decades, because films are always a reflection of society at that point of time, I’ve always chosen roles that reflected the modern Indian woman of that particular time. Hichki is no different. Naina’s character is inspired from Brad Cohen (the American motivational speaker and author with Tourette’s Syndrome on whose life Hichki is partly based). He has, in his own way, overcome his weakness and made that his strength, just by sheer hope. He never gave up, and I think that quality is something I relate with on a personal level.
This is a very special film, a very special role, a very special syndrome that our audience needs to be educated about. It’s also a very important film because of the various kinds of discriminations that people face, that ‘hichki’ that we have in the mind…. The discrimination that we talk about in my film is about education and about giving equal opportunities to children who come from different backgrounds. It’s an entertaining film, but at the same time, it talks about certain issues in a very subtle way, so you kind of get it and yet you enjoy the film....
[Rani gets distracted by the food on the table — Stuffed Mushrooms, Spinach and Corn Crepes, Chicken Roulade and Red Velvet Cupcakes, all courtesy Paris Cafe]
It’s only good that I look at it! Looking is important (stares at the food for a bit longer). It’s like when you tell your husband, ‘Why are you looking at that girl so much?’ And he says, ‘Uff, it’s okay to look, na? Touching is not allowed!’ So I do the same with food — it’s okay to look, but not okay to touch! (Laughs out loud)
Chandreyee Chatterjee (Team t2): Though it’s been four years since Mardaani, we don’t want to call Hichki your ‘comeback’ film…
Rani: No, you can, because this is officially a comeback! Don’t get worried about that… I’m not one of those actors who gets upset with that word! This word has been used in my life so much that finally I told people, ‘This is the time that you all should be using that, because this is the actual comeback!’ (Laughs)
I did take a break, I did become a mum, and I did take that little period off where I enjoyed being with my daughter (Adira), so I think you all can officially call it a comeback. Before this, when I used to tell people, ‘Arre yaar, pehle shaadi toh hone do, bachha hone do, phir ‘comeback’ bolo!’ Now when it’s actually a comeback, everybody’s like, ‘No, no! We won’t call it a comeback!’ And I’m like, ‘Why?! Now, all the more!’
Chandreyee: What makes Hichki the ideal film to do after a gap of four years?
Rani: It’s very difficult for a mother to be away from her child. It required a film like Hichki for me to be able to come out and work leaving my daughter behind. So it had to be special, because I’m not settling for anything less. If I didn’t feel so strongly about a film, I don’t think I would have been a part of it.
Chandreyee: While making the film and now that you are travelling and promoting it, how tough has it been to stay away from your two-year-old?
Rani: That’s been my biggest challenge. Even now, I’m actually just constantly trying to see what Adira is doing. I have a video thing on my phone where I can watch her. I keep watching her and I’m like, ‘Awwww, okay, I need to catch my flight!’
My entire day revolves around the fact that my daughter should be comfortable. It’s very challenging for a working mother, but working mothers shouldn’t forget that the same children are going to grow up and going to say, ‘Mom, don’t bother me, I’m with my friends!’ (Laughs) I know that one day I’m going to hear the same from Adira. So I guess it is important to create that balance between personal life and work. My husband (Aditya Chopra) said a beautiful thing. He said, ‘You know, Adira’s going to be with us forever. But don’t forget who you are and don’t forget what you have contributed to your fans. They want you back, so you’ve got to go back and do what you’re good at doing’. (Pauses) Which probably was a hint that I’m not good at looking after the house! (Laughs)
Priyanka: She’s just two, but does Adira have a sense of what her mom does?
Rani: She sings Hichki! She sings the song and it melts my heart and I die, because for me it is such a surreal feeling. I am like, ‘Is this really happening? Is this my child? Have I really given birth to this thing which is singing my song now?’ And she is so cute! We Bengalis are superstitious... (touches the wooden table), but I can’t just help it. I keep looking at her and just keep going mad. I am completely, mentally, besottedly in love with my child. It is just an amazing feeling.
Priyanka: What does she say when she sees you on TV?
Rani: She just says ‘Mummmaa’ and if she sees these three photos (points to the pictures from her t2 chat for Mardaani), she’ll say ‘Teen, teen Mumma!’ (Everyone laughs) My trailer (of Hichki) has that section when I keep hiccupping and there are three windows (on screen) and I am tic-ing, and she says ‘Three, three Mumma!’ And when she is seeing my photographs like (Mock-scrolls on the screen of her phone), ‘Yeh bhi Mumma, yeh bhi Mumma’. So she gets quite excited seeing me.
Priyanka: Has she picked up any Bangla?
Rani: Ya, ya because my mom speaks to her. Very cutely she says those words.
Rushati Mukherjee (first-year PG student of English at Jadavpur University): Actresses who are mothers are constantly asked about how they ‘transition’ to working life after becoming a mother. Actors are never really asked that, are they?
Rani: No, no forget male actors… this question is not asked to my husband… that how did he resume work after he had Adira and he left me behind!
RANI’S MANY MOODS
[A two-tiered cake, courtesy Paris Cafe, featuring some iconic characters played by Rani in her films is brought in. Rani goes ‘Ooooh’ and tries guessing the characters on it.]
Rani: That is Mardaani for sure, with the revolver! This is Hum Tum (points to the figure in blue denims and white top). This is Black (looks at the figure in dark glasses and holding a cane). And this is Hichki (points to the figure on the top of the cake, doing the familiar hand-below-chin Hichki pose). And me in a black sari has to be Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna! I did pretty well, huh?! This is such a cute thing, man. It is sooo nice of you guys, yaar! I feel so happy when I see all this.
Is this my birthday cake?
Team t2: Yes, your pre-birthday cake! (Rani’s birthday is on March 21)
Rani cuts the cake and bites into a piece. “Oh my god, it is my favourite cake! Chocolate with nuts! (Goes silent, hands covering her face) It’s SO good! (Everyone laughs)
Rushati: There’s not much awareness about Tourette Syndrome in India. When you took on the film, were you thinking about just the challenges of the character or did you also want to raise awareness about the condition?
Rani: I think it has to be a combination of both. Film is a medium of entertainment, and there is no film that you should do that does not entertain. But if your film has a very important message, you want it to reach as many people as it can and that can only happen if it has that entertainment factor. The greatest example of it is a Raju (Rajkumar) Hirani film. He makes such lovely, light, entertaining movies and then he gives a great message.
What was interesting about Hichki was that it was a really good story, very entertaining, heart-warming, sensitive and at the same time, it would give me the opportunity to educate people about a syndrome which is not very well known… which will, with Hichki, probably become a national focus. With that, when we talk about other discriminations, it will give an incentive to teachers and principals and education facilitators to talk… about how education should be, how to change their way of looking at students, change their way of teaching.
Priyanka: How have your teachers shaped you into the person you are?
Rani: I would first talk about my parents. They have been the most important teachers. Then the teachers. For Brad Cohen, even though he didn’t have a supportive teacher during his most turbulent years, he had a supportive mum. So it is very important for parents to be those anchors in your life. And then when you go out, it is your teachers because they become the people who you look up to after your parents. We’ve all had that one teacher in school who has made a difference and impacted our lives. Hichki, in a way, is a tribute to teachers and the teaching community, to all the teachers who’ve actually given their life to imparting knowledge to us.
Chandreyee: As a mother, do you think doing the film has made you aware of the need to educate other parents about this condition?
Rani: Frankly, when I took up Hichki, Adira was only nine months old. At that time, her education was not really on my mind but now that she’s turned two, the next two years are going to be very important in terms of making decisions like which school I put her in, what her basic and formal education will be like….
Priyanka: What was the prep for this film like, especially getting that tic so perfectly…
Rani: Whether it’s perfect or not, you guys will have to tell me! (Laughs) In this case, I got very little help because there’s so little awareness about Tourette and even those kids who have it in Mumbai were not very forthcoming to spend time with us because their parents are very protective about them, which is very natural. That got me more determined that this film has to reach people because I am hoping it will start a dialogue… like Taare Zameen Par did for dyslexia. During Black, I had someone teach me sign language… I could go to the deaf-mute and blind school and observe them. But in this case, I could only watch YouTube videos of people suffering from tics and also talk to Brad through Skype.
I wanted to feel Naina before I could play her. I feel that if you can emotionally connect with Naina, then you will feel for her condition as well. The tics are just part of her… she’s more than just having those tics. That was my foremost idea while prepping to play Naina.
Then I had to develop a tic that came across as natural. I have to tic in every shot and every scene… I had to develop a tic that wasn’t borrowed, but that which I developed ‘naturally’ for Naina. So I went through that whole thing of, ‘What if I had Tourette’s? What would my tic be like?’ And I developed that.
Priyanka: All of us have our favourite Rani Mukerji films…
Rani: Oh, tell me na! (Laughs)
Priyanka: Saathiya, Yuva, Black, Mardaani… I’ve even rewatched Baabul! (Rani laughs)
Chandreyee: Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat... your character was so strong, and you were so good in what was your first Bolly film!
Rani: Are you serious?! (Rolls her eyes and laughs) And I just cringe when I look at myself in that film!
Priyanka: Is there any film of yours you rewatch?
Rani: I get damn scared! Sometimes, when I have time, I revisit certain scenes and songs and it’s nice to go back and see some of my work… like Bunty Aur Babli. Or some songs of (Dil Bole) Hadippa or Aiyyaa… or Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. They play so many times on TV… (pauses) certain parts of Nayak. Yuva, Saathiya, Chalte Chalte….
Priyanka: Which film of yours will you show Adira first?
Rani: Bunty Aur Babli! In fact, I want to show her Hichki, but I don’t know how she will react. She sings the song Oye hichki very cutely (imitates a baby sing-song voice). It’s toooooo cute! And she imitates my tic… she says, ‘Mumma, chak chak!’ (Laughs) Ya, she does that… she’s a born actor. I don’t know where she gets the genes from! (Winks and everyone laughs out loud)
Chandreyee: Will we ever see you on social media?
Rani: No! I am good at social media when I am promoting a film because I know I can use it to reach out to as many people as I can. That’s what I work for, for my audience. But when I go back to my normal life and have nothing to talk about, then it’s best to be consumed by my private life. I don’t like to be thinking about work 24x7 and for that, I have decided not to be on social media because in our industry, you need to be connected all the time. And anyway, whether I am on social media or not, you will always see my pictures because wherever I go, people take my pictures and post it on their social media. So why should I now add to that? And it’s so silly to keep taking selfies and looking at yourself all the time! How different can you look each time… come on!
Rushati: Is there any current actress you see the Rani of 10 years ago in?
Rani: Not at all! I get full marks for honesty, no? Do you think there will ever be another me?! (Laughs) You have to create a special place for yourself and there shouldn’t be another ‘you’ because then you lose your individuality. And I pray that no one like me comes… how sad will that be?! (Laughs)
Chandreyee: You turn 40 on March 21…
Rani: Fully! And I’m not at all happy about that!
Priyanka: 40 is the new 30!
Rani: No, no, I’m happy to let people know my age and that I have that much wisdom behind me, but it’s just not a happy number. Why can’t I be 39-and-a-half? Or just remain in the ‘threes?’ My favourite number is 3… 21 is my birth date. When I turned 30, I was really ecstatic because I had number 3 attached to me and now I am losing that number!
Chandreyee: Will the Rani Mukerji of the 40s be any different?
Rani: Not at all! I will be sexier, fitter…. Still not on social media, but I will be doing more films for sure. (Pauses) And many more babies also… I’m gonna try. I want some more kids for sure! (Laughs)
My favourite Rani Mukerji film is... Tell t2@abp.in
Pictures: Pabitra Das and B. Halder
