The queen wins hearts. again

Rani Mukerji shines in the predictable Hichki. Since she's clearly not lost her touch, let's hope she gets back in the thick of things and not just stick to doing films for Yash Raj

Last month, on March 21, she brought in her 40th birthday. Two days later, Rani Mukerji's film Hichki - after a four-year hiatus since Mardaani - was released to warm reviews and upbeat box office collections over the opening weekend at multiplexes.
Hichki - a modestly-budgeted social drama revolving around a school teacher who, despite her Tourette syndrome, succeeds in straightening out a classful of taunting adolescents - may have been entirely predictable in its storytelling. Strong shades of the golden oldie To Sir, With Love (1967), starring Sidney Poitier, were clearly evident, the departure being the teacher's speech impairment. Said to be based on the real-life story of American motivational speaker Brad Cohen, Hichki couldn't avoid the feeling of déjà vu. Cohen's overcoming the Tourette syndrome has already been made into a TV film titled Front of the Class (2008). Well, never mind the lack of originality!
The Bollywood adaptation, produced by Rani's husband Aditya Chopra, is more than likely to be remembered for its leading lady's spontaneously believable performance. The script may have been utterly predictable and the direction just about passable, but the unanimous verdict has been that Rani did elevate the material beyond the commonplace.
That has been her USP actually. Even in the most mediocre and, at times, abysmal films, she has emerged unscathed. In fact, when she had made her Bollywood debut in the utterly forgettable Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat (1997) as a housewife subjected to physical abuse, Aditya Chopra had predicted that here was an actress to watch out for. His childhood friend, Karan Johar, had concurred wholeheartedly. Both were disappointed when the Filmfare award for Sensational Newcomer of the Year was not given to Rani. "You guys are making a mistake," both Aditya and Karan had remarked, and they were right.
Overcoming the stigma of being a flop heroine, the petite-framed, light-eyed Rani went on to become the Aati Kya Khandala girl in the company of Aamir Khan in Ghulam (1998). Luck by chance also favoured her when she was pencilled in by Karan Johar for a key supporting role alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol in his first film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), a part which was initially offered to - and rejected by - Twinkle Khanna.
Since then, Rani Mukerji has been on a roll. After incessant rumours in the tabloids, she married Aditya Chopra in Italy in 2014; they had a daughter, Adira, a year later. Their relationship was sought to be kept under wraps since the scion of the Yash Chopra family had to formalise his divorce from his wife Payal Khanna. If there was acrimony in the interim, Rani chose to maintain a stoic silence.
She has been chummy with the media, but with the proviso that personal questions are off limits. Any posers about Govinda and Abhishek Bachchan - who she was linked with by the grapevine during the earlier days of her career - were countered with a "no comments".
Frequently accompanied by her mother to film locations and sets, Rani was successfully protected from escalating controversies which could have marred her girl-next-door image. Her father, the late producer-director Ram Mukherjee, too, kept a strict vigil. Incidentally, he had introduced his daughter, when she was in her teens, in the Bengali film Biyer Phool (1996) opposite high-profile actor Prosenjit Chatterjee. The romantic comedy, however, hasn't stood the test of time and is watched on the Internet today mainly by those curious about tracking Rani's career.
In a span of two decades, the actress, who is the real-life cousin of Kajol, has featured in approximately 50 films, inclusive of guest appearances. Arguably, her career-best have been Saathiya (2002), Chalte Chalte (2003), Veer-Zaara (2004), Bunty Aur Babli (2005), Black (2005) and No One Killed Jessica (2011).
Capable of handling high-pitched dramas, romedies and actioners, Rani did not align herself to any production house. Neither did she team up with a select few of the leading actors. On the contrary, she was an able counterpoint to the gamut of heroes in different films toplined by Aamir, Shah Rukh and Salman Khan.
Quite uncharacteristically, at this point of time, the actress appears to be limiting herself to films made by her husband's Yash Raj banner - perhaps because projects and scripts can be designed exclusively for her by the nation's top film production house.
Here's hoping that she's open to 'outside assignments'. After all, here's a gifted artiste who deserves to be seen much more frequently than once in a blue moon.
wknd@khaleejtimes.com