Rani Mukerji feels there’s a time and energy to a film’s kundli

It has been 22 years since Rani Mukerji made her Bollywood debut (with Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat, 1996). And through her long journey, she has seen dizzying heights of success as well as failure. In the latest instance, her new film, Hichki, has gone on to become one of the biggest hits of 2018.

Rani encounters both the highs and lows with equanimity. “Throughout my life, I’ve believed that when a film has to work, it works. I feel there’s a certain time and energy to a film’s kundli (destiny). Of course, hard work and money go into every film, because it’s not as if there’s no hard work in films that don’t work,” says the actor.

The Mardaani (2014) actor adds that sometimes, “everything works out well” for a film on its release. “And then, there are times when you feel that a film has everything but it still doesn’t work. So, a section of the audience may not like a film on its release, but a few years down the line, they might watch it on TV and be like, ‘It’s a good film; why didn’t it work at that time?’” she says.

The actor cites the late Yash Chopra’s unconventional love story Lamhe (1991), starring Anil Kapoor and the late Sridevi, as a “big example”. She says, “It has become a cult film for most of us. We’ve grown up loving that film. But at that time, people probably could not fathom some part of its story, which possibly didn’t work for them.

But for us, it’s like a legendary movie.” She adds that ultimately, the truth is that only audiences can decide the fate of a film.

“After all, we call them ‘janta janaardhan (the audience is the king)’. We give a lot of respect to films that work at the box office. It’s very important that the maximum number of people watch your film. When that happens, it automatically translates into numbers. Otherwise, only a few people praise your film but you don’t feel fully satisfied,” says Rani.

PHOTO: RAAJESSH KASHYAP/HT Rani Mukerji has had a recent hit with Hichki