'To Think Of The Missing Girls...': Rani Mukerji Calls Mardaani Franchise Emotionally Demanding

Rani Mukerji has been entertaining her fans with movies across genres, but if there is one film of the actress that has been a milestone in her career, it is the Mardaani franchise. Mardaani is a quite physically and emotionally demanding film, and having a rare female cop in mainstream Hindi cinema, which is full of male-dominated cop universes, isn’t easy. Speaking about the same, Rani Mukerji shared, “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,” Rani continued while speaking with Mid-Day.

Mardaani 3 is quite a physically punishing film, just like the previous two instalments, but more than the physical challenge, it is the emotional toll that the film took on her. Mardaani 3 is based on the true story of a girl going missing in India, and that made it even more emotionally heavy for Rani. Speaking about the same, she added, “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.’”

Directed by Abhiraj Minawala and produced by Aditya Chopra, Mardaani 3 continues the franchise’s tradition of socially relevant cinema. While Mardaani exposed the grim realities of human trafficking and Mardaani 2 explored the disturbing psyche of a serial rapist who challenged the system, Mardaani 3 delves into another dark and brutal reality of our society, further strengthening the franchise’s legacy of impactful, issue-based storytelling.

Mardaani 3 is scheduled to release in theatres worldwide on January 30, 2026.