Mumbai, Sep 27 (PTI) Actor Rani Mukerji is elated to have won her first National Film Award in her nearly three-decade-long career and hopes to win many more in the future.
The 46-year-old was speaking
at the India Today Conclave on Friday when she was asked if the honour marked the culmination of her journey that began in 1996.
“I would like to see it as an eternity. It keeps going, I wouldn’t like to say full stop because there’s lots more to do, many National Awards to win. Maybe this is just the start,” Mukerji said.
Mukerji made her screen debut with the Bengali film “Biyer Phool” (1996) and went on to feature in blockbuster Hindi films such as “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai”, “Ghulam”, “Chalte Chalte”, “Saathiya”, “Hum Tum”, “Black”, “Mardaani” and “Hichki”.
She was conferred the Best Actress honour for her performance in “Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway” by President Droupadi Murmu at the 71st National Film Awards ceremony on Tuesday.
Directed by Ashima Chibber, the 2023 film tells the story of Debika Chatterjee (Mukerji), an Indian mother in Norway who battles authorities to regain custody of her children after being forcibly separated from them.
At the ceremony, Mukerji was seen wearing a gold chain with her daughter Adira’s name embedded on it.
The actor said her nine-year-old daughter was keen to attend the function but was unable to due to protocol.
“She was howling because she wanted to be part of the National Award function and we were told children under 14 are not allowed. I had to tell her she couldn’t be with me and she was like, ‘It’s so unfair because I’m the happiest that you won the award’.
“She had also made a painting for me and I said, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll have you with me on this special day’. So, that was my way of having her with me,” the actor said.
Mukerji admitted she was “disappointed” when she did not win the award for her portrayal of a deaf and blind young woman in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Black” (2005), which also starred Amitabh Bachchan.
The film, however, won three awards — Best Actor for Bachchan, Best Costume Design and Best Feature Film in Hindi.
“I gave my all in ‘Black’, and I was only 25 at that time. There was chatter that I would win and when I didn’t, that’s when my blinkers came on. I thought, ‘Even when you do your best work, it might not always be in your favour’.
“I told myself, don’t be disappointed, keep working hard, you need to do better, and I kept doing that,” she said.
The actor said her late father, filmmaker Ram Mukerji, was also “heartbroken” when she was overlooked for “Black”.
“My father was very disappointed and heartbroken that I didn’t win that year. So was Sanjay, the director of the film. But I guess when things are meant to happen, they happen. The way India and my fans cheered for me now, it couldn’t have been sweeter or better than that,” she said.
Mukerji is currently filming the third installment of the “Mardaani” franchise, slated for a 2026 release. PTI KKP RB RB
