Rani Mukerji: Been fortunate to play women who laughed loudly, loved deeply, fought fearlessly

Mumbai

Bollywood star Rani Mukerji, who has been honoured at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) with a special citation recognising her excellence in acting, calls herself fortunate to play women who laughed loudly, loved deeply, fought fearlessly and never stopped believing in themselves.

As she completed three decades in the industry, the festival feted with the honour as the actress has built an illustrious career spanning diverse genres and some of the most memorable female characters in contemporary Hindi cinema. Her body of work, spanning films such as Black, Hum Tum, Yuva, Bunty Aur Babli, No One Killed Jessica, Hichki, the Mardaani franchise and Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway, reflects a remarkable evolution as an actor while remaining rooted in her ability to tell deeply human stories.

Rani said in a statement: “When I entered the Indian film industry as a young girl, I never imagined that one day my films and the characters that I have been fortunate enough to play, would take me across oceans and that people in a beautiful country like Australia would embrace me with so much warmth.” “Entertaining people across the world with my cinema is the greatest gift this profession has given me. Australia has always welcomed me & Indian cinema with open arms. It has become a place where cultures meet through storytelling, where films remind us that emotions don’t need passports and where love, laughter and hope speak a language we all understand,” she added.

The actress said that as actors, they perform in front of a camera. “But the real story begins only when that performance reaches someone’s heart. To know that for three decades my films, my characters and my voice have travelled so far from home and still found a place in your lives is incredibly humbling.” “I’ve been fortunate to play women who laughed loudly, loved deeply, fought fearlessly and never stopped believing in themselves. In many ways, every character has changed me a little. They’ve made me a better actor, but more importantly, they’ve made me a better human being,” she added.” The 2026 edition of IFFM runs from August 13 to 23.