Rani Mukerji, who was last seen on the big screen in Mardani in 2014, is all set to make her big screen comeback with Siddharth P Malhotra's Hichki next year. The actor in an interaction with CNN News18 reveals that when she went on set after the 2-year sabbatical she took post Adira's birth, she was unsure whether she could act and that led her to break down on the first day.
"Normally when I used to do one film a year and come back, so people used to say, Oh! Rani has come back! But this time was an actual comeback because I did take a break for 2 years and completely and thoroughly enjoyed the break. And I was so domesticated for those 2 years and just being with my baby, changing her nappies, doing the regular chores of the house- that just made me feel I think abhi yehi karti hu mai."
“The first day I cried. When it hit me that I'm going back to work, I was howling in the car. I always keep very tough and fearless exterior, so I don't want to cry in front of my driver. I kept thinking "Oh god this is going to be tough, I hope Adira is going to be okay" but my daughter is stronger than I think she is. She was very supportive and I never wanted to miss any milestone of hers," she explained.
Rani further said that she didn't miss acting that much because she was consumed with her daughter's love and the role-play of being a mother. Given that Adira was a premature baby, Rani shares that she needed those initial 4 months to make sure her baby kept well and then it was her husband Aditya Chopra, who pushed her back to work. "The list was endless. After 6 months, I can get back to looking into my life, starting to work out. You put on weight as a mother and you've to get back to face the camera. And my husband, being my husband, was very particular about that. He was the one who constantly kept telling me that you need to get back to work, you need to be who you are. He was a constant factor- every day of my life- to the point where I used to tell him that can you just stop it. And he was a very positive influence in my life in the sense that if he wasn't after my life, I'd have probably taken a longer break."
The actor even shared that it was the timing of Hichki that worked well for her and lauded the makers for adjusting the shoot schedule as per her timings. "If people encourage more working mothers and could just tweak their timing, I think a lot more mothers can come out and work like this. The help that I got from my team, it wouldn't have been possible without them. They made it so comfortable that they actually kept to the word they told me."
Rani, who’s always been at a distance from social media, reveals that it’s single-handedly her husband’s decision to not keep Adira away from the media glare. “This is single-handedly my husband's decision. In this topic, he has no interest in taking my advice or opinion. This department he's like that no, I don't want her pictures."
“And it’s very important for me that when you're in a relationship, you choose your battles and I keep telling him that one fine day, she's going to be clicked which she did. And ironically she got clicked with her father and I was like "Thank god, it was not me," she adds.
Being an actor used to the paparazzi and media culture, Rani admits that she doesn’t have a problem in getting her daughter clicked and it’s even hard for them to consciously keep her away from glare but Aditya makes it a point to blatantly say no for photographs.
“It is very hard not to get her photograph. But Adi's reputation is so spoiled that everyone fears taking a picture with her because he blatantly says no. Everyone was pretty scared in a way to take her picture because they knew it wasn't allowed, or it wasn’t right."
Pointing out that little Adira made friends with everyone, Rani says, “Honestly, I wouldn't mind Adira's pictures and I'm happy that a few of them have come out as well. But I do understand Adi's point of view and I respect it. And till the time we can, we will. When we can’t, we can’t."
She also highlights that while she understands her husband’s point of view, somewhere in the future, he needs to see the point too. “The thing is that I've to respect Adi, but in time Adi needs to understand. Like I understand that from where he's coming from, we need to give our child a normal upbringing. Like today if she goes on a beach, she should go unnoticed. Because otherwise she won't enjoy the beach getting attention and there are very few places in Bombay where she can go for recreation."
On being asked if as a celebrity is it hard to be married to someone who’s so private, Rani immediately says that she loves this quality about him. “I love that about him (his idea of being private). I don’t mind the world knowing everything or showing the pictures but not at the cost of making another person feel uncomfortable. If my partner is uncomfortable and he’s not happy, how am I going to be happy? If he was happy sharing the photos, I would feel happy that he’s a part of this but I can’t be akele happy so as a couple you’ve to do things together."
The actor also fears that if she ever makes her social media debut, she’ll be trolled the first day for not sharing pictures of her husband and daughter. “I think it’s a great platform and it’ll be help in so many ways. But what I’m scared is that if tomorrow someone asks me of a picture of my daughter or my husband, how much am I going to say no? So I’ll be probably trolled the first day. And I don’t think anybody would understand that."
Rani also talks at length about how Adira is as a child and how she’s made Rani more tolerant and patient in life. “She's a great mix of me and Adi. She's very definitive in her answers- if it's a no, it's a no and you can’t really cuddle her and think she's a child so you can get things done. She's a very good soul and a good balancer. If she upsets one person, she makes sure to make it up to that person, she won't let anyone feel bad and if she gives one importance to another, she makes sure that the other minute, she makes the other one feel important enough. She's very attached to me."
The actor further sheds light on how she remained connected with films despite being on a break and points out that for an actor it’s imperative to evolve with each film and adds that much of her choices after Hichki will depend on how the film fares.
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