Adi is who he is and that suits me: Rani Mukerji

As I meet Rani Mukerji on a balmy evening, I realise that despite staying away from the arclights for four years, her passion for cinema and zest for life remains the same. Tell her about it and she says, “Thank God, people feel that I haven’t changed at all. I can breathe now,” she chuckles as we start our conversation. In a candid chat, the actress talks about her comeback film Hichki, being drawn towards strong female characters and why she is always going to be Aditya Chopra’s real heroine, even if not on-screen. Excerpts...

In your earlier interview to this paper, you had said that when Hichki was offered, you were wondering if you had forgotten to act. Why did you feel that way?

Adira was a premature baby, so the doctors and nurses had advised me to do certain things. As a mother, I was like a tigress trying to protect her cub. Nothing really interested me except spending time with my daughter. Adi (Aditya Chopra), who is my husband and friend, saw that I was getting obsessed with motherhood. He constantly told me that I should get back to films as that’s where I belong.

Around the same time, director Siddharth P Malhotra and producer Maneesh Sharma approached me for Hichki. There was something unique about its script. I asked them, ‘What if I come on set and don’t know what is happening around?’ After that, I was working with the team on the scripting stage when Adira was just nine months old. By the time I went on shoot, she was over a year already. It took me that much time to prep and get back to the sets, so it was valid for me to think that I had forgotten how to act (smiles).

What did you like about the script?

After having my daughter, I always wanted to do something special in order to stay relevant. I felt the script should have something worthwhile which would let me go away from her. I liked the fact that I was getting to play a character with Tourette’s Syndrome. The story has many layers as we are speaking about how the society treats a person with a condition, the education system and the discrimination that underprivileged kids face.

How was the first day of the shoot?

When I was heading to the sets, I was howling in the car. I didn’t know I had become so vulnerable. I had the fear that I was leaving Adira and going to work. It was strange because I was getting back to doing what I always loved — acting. I still felt that I love something else more than my work. However, once the camera started rolling, everything fell into place and I told myself, ‘This is who I am’.

When you play such a character, is there a pressure to not make it look caricaturish?

The idea is to create awareness about the condition. When you have those motor ticks during Tourette’s Syndrome, people who are not aware of the person suffering from it, might misunderstand you. Especially in schools, teachers may think that a student is doing it on purpose as he/she’s a mischievous child. It would be tougher if parents don’t accept their children’s condition. People need to be aware of all this. In the US, there are stand-up comedians who have Tourette’s. They feel, ‘You want to laugh at me, come pay money and laugh’. They have turned their disadvantage into advantage. That’s what we are celebrating in the film. My character’s story is inspired by American motivational speaker and author Brad Cohen, who is a principal now and married with two children. You make such films in an entertaining format, so you let go.

Why haven’t we ever seen you in Aditya’s directorial venture yet?

You should ask him that question. I don’t know why he’s not making a film with me. I keep telling him to do so. But that’s his prerogative.

But don’t you discuss this at home?

Of course, we do. I keep telling him, ‘You’re the biggest loser as you don’t have me in your movie (laughs).’ But jokes apart, he’s always been the director who has maintained that he chooses actors according to his script. The first time we met was for his movie. Incidentally, it was called Dulhan. That film never happened, but I became his dulhan (smiles).

In a partnership, both the individuals imbibe each other’s qualities. Have you turned more reclusive like Adi or has he become more extroverted like you?

We fell in love with each other knowing who we exactly are. In my case, I’ve always been very lazy. If I had my way, I would be in my room, watching television and films the whole day. Adi is who he is and that suits me. He doesn’t like going anywhere. I’ve married a person who isn’t outgoing, so in a way, he’s just like me.