Rani Mukerji reveals Mardaani 3 was emotionally demanding

If her 30-year career has taught Rani Mukerji something, it’s that every movie is demanding, some more than the others. The Mardaani franchise sits firmly in the second category. With Mardaani 3, as the actor reprises the role of Shivani Shivaji Roy, a rare female cop in mainstream Hindi cinema that has a male-dominated cop universe, she admits taking up such parts isn’t easy. She begins, “In a female actor’s life, a lot of hard work is involved. I’m a married woman who has had a baby. Every month, year, and decade is different for us because of our hormonal changes. We’re constantly battling that. Then we have to work on a role like Shivani, where you have to look a certain way; your body language and manner of speaking have to [convey] that you are a cop.”

Like the previous two instalments, Mardaani 3 was physically punishing. But to the actor, it was far more daunting emotionally as Abhiraj Minawala’s directorial venture reflects the true story of young girls going missing in India. Mukerji shares, “Emotionally, the trauma that the girls suffer in the film is also what we suffer indirectly as we know that they are inspired by true events. To think of the missing girls and what their families go through is traumatising. I had to detach myself from these emotions because if I get too emotional, I may not be able to portray the part well. When I pick up subjects like Mardaani, I’m trying to shake people up and tell them, ‘Look, this is happening around us’.”

Over 12 years and three instalments, Mukerji has worked with three directors on the franchise, beginning with late Pradeep Guha. She believes that every director has added to the crime drama’s gritty world. “Dada [Guha] is the founder of the franchise. Gopi [Puthran] was the writer of Mardaani, so [directing] the second part was a smooth transition. Abhiraj, being a young father, brings his own emotions to it. But the backbone of the franchise is Adi [Aditya Chopra, producer]. He champions women’s causes. Adi and I are integral to the franchise.”

President Droupadi Murmu with Rani Mukerji. Pic/AFP

In 2025, Rani Mukerji won the National Film Award for Best Actress for her turn in ‘Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway’. She dedicates the victory to her late father, Ram Mukerji. “I was at my Juhu office doing the griha pravesh pooja when I got the call. My mom started crying as my dad always wished that I would get the award. It was surreal as we were in dad’s room. I felt that my father had given me the news,” she says.