In 1997, when the top-grossing Bollywood films were a mix of fluffy romantic comedies and maudlin love triangles, a barely 20-year old Rani Mukerji made her Hindi film debut playing a rape victim who is asked to marry her tormentor and faces innumerable challenges in her quest for dignity.
Remembering that and the other films where she played a strong female
character, a newly-married Mukerji told India Insight she likes to
strike a balance between what she calls substantial roles and those
written only for entertaining fans. Her latest film “Mardaani,”
(“Masculine”) produced by her producer husband, sees Mukerji in the role of a tough police officer out to bust a child-trafficking ring.
“I have always tried to portray strong women in all the films that I
have done because I do feel that when people see movies they get very
moved and they do feel inspired,” she said about the roles that she
prefers.
That said, Mukerji does not agree that Bollywood or films in general
should take responsibility for what messages people take from films.
“In the creative field you will make different kinds of movies. So
with this film we are expecting that women will get motivated to
probably bring out the maardani in them. At the same when somebody is
making an out-and-out comedy, an out and out masala film, you don’t know
what a person might take from it. So how can you be responsible for
each and every citizen who comes and watches a film?” she said in
response to criticism of the film industry after recent cases of violence against women.
Rushing from one TV studio to the other to promote “Mardaani,”
Mukerji told India Insight in a telephone interview how she hopes
audiences will appreciate that a female police officer does exactly what
her male counterparts are expected to do, how she has moved beyond “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai” (“Something Happens”) and “Bombay Talkies” and how she learnt gangsters are caught.
Excerpts:
Q. How do you like playing outright bold, female characters like you do in this movie and in No One Killed Jessica?
A. I have always tried to portray strong women in all the
films that I have done because I do feel that when people see movies
they get moved and they do feel inspired.
Rani Mukherji in a screengrab from “Mardaani”
Q. What’s the inherent challenge that you face playing such roles?
A. I think the inherent challenge with such roles is to
actually do the roles with a lot of conviction and make the roles look
very believable and real. Sometimes what happens in films is that,
because it’s an escapist medium, there are certain roles that get
defined very differently and it can get to the area of looking a bit too
over the top. You have to find the right balance and the right balance
in the script as well because at the end of the day we are characters
and we are mouthing lines from the script.
Q. Being a cop is often perceived as a man’s job. There are the Singhams and the Dabanggs (recent super hits based on police men) all around us. How is it for a woman actor to take up such roles?
A. There are many women officers who are as brave and as
courageous and as fearless as the male officers. There is nothing that
they don’t do. The job of the police officer is the same, irrespective
of the gender. That’s what as a woman I have tried to portray through
this role. I hope people get the message loud and clear that there are
innumerable Kiran Bedis that we have in the world and in the country.
Q. How and why did you say yes to this film, given your earlier romantic heroine roles?
A. I don’t think I am only most remembered for my romantic
roles. I think I am also most remembered for the film that I did with Mr
Sanjay Leela Bhansali called “Black.”
I don’t think I have ever been kept in an image where people have only
accepted me in one kind of a film. So in a way I will not agree with
your question but, of course, it’s your opinion. I don’t think my fans
out there expect me to deliver similar roles to them.
A. I went to the crime branch office in Mumbai. You need to
get special permission as they work under cover. They agreed to give us
time because they knew that the cause of this film is much bigger than
just being a film and it is also a very real portrayal. They gave us the
information which helped with our further research work. They took me
through mock drills of how they nab gangsters, how they interrogate
criminals so I went through a lot of those sessions with them.
Q. What did you learn about the police – especially the female
officers – and their job; something that the people at large should know
about?
A. I think all they should know is that when a female pilot
flies a plane, does she fly it any differently than a male pilot? Women
cops do their duty exactly the way male cops do. And they are always
known for their performance and their designation and not for being
female or male.
Q. Why do you think we have so many movies based on the police
being made now – is that a reaction to how things are in the society
currently?
A. No, I wouldn’t say that. I would say that there are people
who are suffering at times. But by and large we need to see the positive
side and there are a lot of cops who do a lot for us. I am very proud
of the way the Mumbai Police functions. There could be problems in
different states in India but I think Mumbai Police really rock. They
have probably always got things and the law and order situation (under
control) very, very quickly.
Q. Do you think the film industry needs to respond to criticism
that films also have a role in fanning attitudes and violence against
women in India?
A. No, because films are an entertainment medium and nobody
can take responsibility of how a person will react to a film. So if a
person is getting emotionally charged with a movie you can’t take
responsibility of that. In the creative field you will make different
kinds of movies. So with this film we are expecting that women will get
motivated to probably bring out the mardaani in them. At the same when
somebody is making an out and out comedy, an out and out masala
film, you don’t know what a person might take from it. So how can you be
responsible for each and every citizen who comes and watches a film?
Source: hblogs.reuters.com
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