Rani: Vidya and I share a great working camaraderie
Rani Mukherjee wants to get one thing straight. "Women are more powerful than men". I guess we have to give it to Rani for a quote like that. I can recall the day when Jessica Lal got murdered. I was in my second year college. What started as a cold blooded murder in the night club, went on to become one of the most unforgettable moment in my journalistic career. Yes, my first story got published in 1999 which was called 'Killing for whose sake?' that highlighted the many such issues including that of Jessica Lal. As for Rani, she agreed to do the film instantly when her director Raj Kumar Gupta told her that the film was based on the Jessica Lal murder case. Such was this brutal incident that no one is able to get it out of their heads, including Rani.
Guess
what?
This
was
the
first
time
I
was
meeting
her
in
flesh.
Yes,
as
false
it
may
sound,
it
is
the
truth.
But
it
never
felt
like
it
when
you
talk
to
Rani
Mukherjee
because
as
an
actress,
she
has
a
remarkable
gift
for
playing
real
people
rather
than
'characters'.
Her
hair
is
wrapped,
dense
and
high,
in
a
bird's
nest,
her
dress
low
cut,
full-length
and
plain,
her
fingers
clamped
in
vintage
rings.
But
this
is
not
Rani
in
character,
this
is
Rani
as
herself.
She
has
a
knack
of
bringing
a
disarming,
everyday
quality
to
extreme
characters.
Her
portrayal
of
a
television
reporter
in
No
One
Killed
Jessica
is
a
testimony
to
my
earlier
sentence.
Good
actors
are
often
said
to
unpeel
layers
of
skin
in
front
of
us.
At
her
best,
Mukherjee
doesn't
seem
to
have
skin
in
the
first
place.
Sometimes,
I
say,
acting
almost
appears
to
be
an
out-of-body
experience
for
her.
She
knows
how
lucky
she's
been
-
in
every
way.
But
she's
not
one
for
complacency.
There's
always
something
nudging
her,
whispering
in
her
ear,
asking
if
she's
making
the
best
use
of
her
career
and
life.
And
just
when
I
was
about
to
leave
her
hotel
room,
she
whispers
in
my
ears,
"I
am
not
making
a
return
to
the
big
screen.
I
have
just
come
back
harder,
stronger
and
more
confident".
I
pause
and
smile,
get
up
and
I
am
about
to
leave
the
room.
I
bite
my
fingers
and
turn
and
she
is
nowhere
to
be
seen.
She
does
the
disappearing
act
so
well.
"Media is our voice and it has to be the most responsible"
I had a blast talking to all my friends from the media. It is always nice for an actor when you see that excitement and love especially from the media. Media in today's time isn't irresponsible but they try too hard sometimes to be. In a world where commercialism is everything, the media is the only one who is the voice of our nation and I respect the media of our country.
"First trailer decides everything"
Audiences now-a-days have become so impatient that they don't want to go and watch a film or waste their time if they are really not excited about it. I think the first trailer of the film actually does it for them. From the first trailer, they decide if they want to watch the film or not. I genuinely believe that if people get excited about the first look, then probably the filmmakers are half way home. Then they can follow it up with better trailers. With Dabangg, each promo was better than the previous one. I hope that our first trailer which garnered a lot of attention transcends into box office success like Dabangg.
"Social message in an entertaining way"
As actors and human beings, you feel really happy that a film like Rang De Basanti was the trigger moment for the Jessica Lal muder case but to play it safe, I would say that the film medium is all about entertainment and if through entertainment you can give out an important message or spark something which you feel is socially relevant it is like a bonus. The kind of films Raj Kumar Hirani makes is a prime example of what I just said.
"We have become too cynical but we also stayed united during Jessica's case"
When I was offered the film, I just wanted to be a part of it because it was a film which was based on the Jessica Lal case. Somewhere down the years in our lives when we keep on saying that the world has become cynical, you actually get shocked when you come to know that the whole of India stood for Jessica Lal. We started to feel for a fellow country's woman. When this entire public outcry happened, we all were connected to it in some way or the other, whether in spirit or text messages or we were physically present at the India Gate. No One Killed Jessica is a special film for me.
"I'm not here to change anyone by playing a journalist"
I am here to do my job as an actor and I better do that job well because I have a huge responsibility towards my fans. I am constantly worried about whether I will be able to deliver my best. I do deliver it but the way people look at it differently. It's their own individual consciousness how they perceive me in my role of a journalist. I have seen many journalists say that they have to report an event or an incident in a much unbiased way though they feel strongly about that particular thing and they do it what they are told to do in the end. A journalist should say what he or she wants to as that's the power of the medium. Particularly, in the case of Jessica Lal, the media played a positive role and created awareness. No one is a baby out here and every journalist knows what they are writing or reporting.
"My role is part fictional and part real"
There were a lot of journalists at the time of Jessica Lal murder case who were actively involved in pursuing the case and in following up each and every detail. There were some who even did the sting operation. In a cinematic medium, you don't have the liberty to show so many journalists but I was representing them in a way through my role as a journalist. My director did a lovely amalgamation of all these journalists put into one which is my character.
"I met some journos who were involved in the case"
I never researched on my role because it would've been unfair to be biased to only one side of the story as there were many who were involved. I met a few journalists who were involved during that case and wanted to know their head space then. The media became so powerful at that time that anybody who tried to fiddle with it was blown away into the oblivion. There was no escape.
"Vidya Balan and I share a great working camaraderie"
I
think
Vidya,
right
from
her
first
film,
has
been
really
lucky
to
have
got
a
brilliant
role
in
her
debut.
After
that,
she
has
only
grown
with
her
films.
She
has
chosen
her
films
in
a
way
that
have
done
justice
to
her
work.
It's
been
a
very
pleasurable
experience.
As
actors
you
want
to
work
with
good
actors
because
it
makes
your
job
that
much
easier
as
you
are
reacting
to
a
good
performance.
So
yes,
Vidya
Balan
and
I
share
a
great
working
camaraderie.
"Raj
Kumar
Gupta
is
a
jumping
jack"
Raj
Kumar
Gupta
is
a
funny
man
because
he
is
so
passionate
about
his
films
that
you
wonder
that
he
is
a
powerhouse
of
talent.
How
can
a
director
be
so
enthusiastic
about
his
film
every
day
of
the
shoot?
He
used
to
get
excited
and
used
to
physically
jump
on
the
sets.
I've
had
a
pleasure
of
working
with
really
passionate
film
makers
but
I
think
every
director
has
their
strengths.
"Women
are
more
powerful
than
men"
Strength
lies
in
mothers
who
up
bring
their
children.
Strength
in
a
woman
is
inborn.
Strength
isn't
about
people
who
are
famous
or
people
who
we
know
are
powerful.
Our
mothers
are
very
powerful.
They
have
fought
through
nine
months
and
that
is
the
biggest
battle
a
woman
ever
faces
in
her
life.
Some
women
have
the
courage
to
show
it,
some
people
have
inner
strength
the
way
they
conduct
their
lives,
some
show
it
through
their
pen
as
journalists,
some
show
with
their
political
lives
they
live
like
Indira
Gandhi
and
Sonia
Gandhi
but
even
the
simple
middle
class
house
wife
and
the
woman
who
do
a
nine
to
six
job
are
as
powerful
as
the
others
I
mentioned.