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Though she may not show it, she is a brilliant performer after all, but Rani Mukerji is at the moment the industry’s most disappointed and heart-broken actor.
Rani saw Dil Bole Hadippa! as a comeback vehicle, thinking that cricket bats and bikini tops are a potent blend. Too bad they blended to create a nightmare. Yash Raj Films even had the gall to take this abominable piece of cinema to the Toronto Film Festival this month.
“What were they thinking?,” a reputed filmmaker and Rani’s friend wondered after watching Dil Bole Hadippa! “The basic premise is lifted from the Amanda Bynes 2006 film, She’s The Man. They’ve replaced soccer with some aimless cricket. And Rani? Same expressions, same laughter… She even cries in exactly the same way as she did in Laaga Chunari Mein Daag. By the way, is she an exclusive YRF heroine now?”
But even if we let Toronto be, closer home, signs of Rani’s downfall were present for all to see since a long time. Gradually and almost systematically, Rani isolated herself completely from the film industry. Today, she is a far cry from the Ms Congeniality she used to be in her Bunty aur Babli days with Abhishek Bachchan. She used to be everyone’s favourite but that only led to trying to please everybody and Rani is now neither here, nor there. She found refuge in one banner, which the industry is now referring to as her home banner.
Whether Rani is dating Aditya Chopra or not is irrelevant at the moment. Even to her closest friends, Rani has been denying wedding rumours since the last two years. However, the not-so-hushed talks about vexing her co-stars, particularly females, are too frequent and alarming to be dismissed as mere back-biting. The complaints began when she was working on Laaga Chunari Mein Daag. Co-stars talk about how she refused to take instructions even from the veteran director Pradeep Sarkar. “Rani would look bored while Pradeepda would explain the scenes to her. Obviously, she thought she knew it all. That’s a sure-shot sign for any artiste’s downfall,” said an actress.
The growing observations about Rani’s know-it-all attitude were corroborated by another filmmaker who made a fiasco-fantasy with her. “She just wouldn’t listen. When I’d be explaining a scene, she’d look away or look distracted as if I was boring her with my instructions,” said the filmmaker.
Rani’s smug attitude has reached the pinnacle of absurdity with Dil Bole Hadippa!, where the absence of a director is palpable. A senior character actor who has worked with Rani has often said, “A few years ago when we were shooting, a small-time theatre actor was supposed to tease her on the streets as a part of a scene. And guess what. Rani screamed at the actor for doing his job too well.”
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People decide my film's fate: Sajid Khan
http://www.hindustantimes.com/People-decide-my-film-s-fate-Sajid-Khan/H1-Article1-520100.aspx 
Well Achilles, I agree that neither JA nor MNIK was a universally accepted movie. But that had more to do ...
which is more funny?
1. Akshay fans saying KI is NOT a flop but MNIK IS a flop.
2. SRK fans saying ...
DDDhit- Don't worry MNIK has recovered its money from Indonesia, Yeman etc. LOL !!! 
You really believe that MNIK is not a flop street? :) 
Sachin in full form:
I hope you are feeling better
A. R. Rahman’s Chicago gig tickets sell for $1,050 each 
Kya Rocky sir...bahot neend aa rahi hai? :)
Chalo chodo iss baat ko we shud better agree to disagree on this ...
I am a Huge, huge fan of MS Dhoni for a pretty long time. I havent missed a single match ...
OutKast 22 September 2009
03:17:03 pm
This looks like a hatchet Job. Agreed Rani has messed her career up with wrong choices of movies, but the criticism from the author is too personal. Wonder whether he had any score to settle with YRF/Rani ?
“The growing observations about Rani’s know-it-all attitude were corroborated by another filmmaker who made a fiasco-fantasy with her. “She just wouldn’t listen. When I’d be explaining a scene, she’d look away or look distracted as if I was boring her with my instructions,” said the filmmaker.”
I guess the film maker would be Kunal Kohli who had a fall out with YRF. So, do you believe him ? Wondering ..
Doga 22 September 2009
04:08:55 pm
Rani was the best actress of the last 10 years and also the biggest female star in the mid 2000’s.
She has in it all the time to make a great comeback, the reason i am sure she wont is because she wont leave YRF, not that they wont make better movies but chances are cut down by restrictment.
Rani is already in semi retirement, i dont even know what is her follow up movies are, similar to Preity Zinta.
And i refuse to believe that she is not being offered movies, she has just gone ultra selective and what she does is DBH.
pardesi 22 September 2009
06:18:12 pm
Schadenfreude – satisfaction or pleasure felt at someone else’s misfortune. Subhash K Jha and Mumbai Mirror now epitomize the term. This piece is poison pen writing at its worst. Kunal Kohli and Pradeep Sarkar should be talking! The only saving grace in their films was Rani, and this after she paid no attention to them? They should look at their own qualities as film-makers first. And Jha needs to get out of gutter journalism.
Rani is not getting roles, that is amply clear. And maybe she does not have a good sense of script, that seems clear too. But no matter how much poison one spouts – she will remain the finest actress of her generation. I would like to see the younger or even contemporary replacements first tackle roles like Heyy Ram, BnB, Yuva or Black and then we can write Rani off.
Qalandar 22 September 2009
06:34:12 pm
Puraani kahaavat hai: “haathi baitha bhi to ghode se ooncha hota hai”
Rani Mukherkjee will be remembered years from now, when many oeers will just be vague images from the past. To this day, a guy like Ashutosh Gowariker wants her for his film — can anyone imagine a Katrina Kaif or a Deepika Padukone in Khelen Hum Jee Jaan Se?
Mumbai Mirror is garbage — btw, haven’t bothered to read this piece, am just responding based on the comments. I feel those are worth my while more than Mumbai Mirror/Jha.
Qalandar 22 September 2009
06:37:27 pm
Well said, pardesi.
Note the implicit sexism here:
Re: “Gradually and almost systematically, Rani isolated herself completely from the film industry. Today, she is a far cry from the Ms Congeniality she used to be in her Bunty aur Babli days with Abhishek Bachchan. She used to be everyone’s favourite but that only led to trying to please everybody and Rani is now neither here, nor there. She found refuge in one banner, which the industry is now referring to as her home banner.”
so when a man does it, he has a “camp”, but when a woman does it, she is being stand-offish and aloof. Not to mention that this writer is incoherent: he criticizes her for being “isolated”, but ALSO says that by “trying to please everybody” she is “neither here, nor there.”
pardesi 22 September 2009
06:44:40 pm
I feel that Indian film journalists barely qualify as journalists, and some of them do not even quality as sentient human beings. The less said about logic and writing style the better. People like Raja Sen and Khalid Mohammed (and Rajiv Masand) at least seem educated and leaps and bounds ahead of the likes of Taran and Subhash Jha. It is sad that we have to get “news” from these fellows.
Doga 22 September 2009
07:53:51 pm
Even though none of the actresses have reached the level of Sridevi and Madhuri, Kajol and then Rani are the closest one has got to those legends.
I will put Kareena,Karisma,Priety, etc below those two sisters.
Aish i guess is not done yet, lol.
This was in reference to Post 80’s scenario.
julie 23 September 2009
02:17:02 am
DBH maybe a lame movie for most film journalists, but Rani and Rani alone is the saving grace of a medicore film.
It is fair to criticize Rani’s choice of scriprt and in some ways how her association with YR has seemingly limited her choices, but to write her off and dismiss her career is foolhardy.
She is a better actress than all her contemporaries, i.e. Aish, Deepika and Katrina put togther.
And pray tell me which actress has she vexed? Aishwarya or Preity? The film industry is nothing but an abidance of gossip and backbiting. Why women, all the leading men have been taking stabs at one another.
Kunal Kohli in his entire career is remembered for Hum Tum and Hum Tum is Rani Mukherjee – period. The man should just do a bit of introspection about before mouthing bitter sweet truth about someone else.
Although I do agree with Doga that Rani will find it difficult to break away from the YR camp for whatever reasons, and YR have hardly cast her in a good script since Veer Zaara (2004). Even if they come up with a pathbreaking script/role, limiting oneself to a camp only alienates an actor particularly a female actor.
sayrahul 23 September 2009
05:59:32 am
Agree with you Julie..
“DBH maybe a lame movie for most film journalists, but Rani and Rani alone is the saving grace of a medicore film” and so was Madhuri in Aaja Nachle
YRF is now responsible for 2 comeback faliures. Its quite amusing that they were not able to turn these high comebacks into a success when these 2 actresses have such a massive fan following.
Caulfield 23 September 2009
08:04:26 am
““The basic premise is lifted from the Amanda Bynes 2006 film, She’s The Man. They’ve replaced soccer with some aimless cricket. And Rani? Same expressions, same laughter… She even cries in exactly the same way as she did in Laaga Chunari Mein Daag. By the way, is she an exclusive YRF heroine now?””
And the basic premise of She’s the Man is lifted from Victoria No. 203. The replaced bullock cart with some aimless football.
And I never knew there were 5000 ways in which a person could cry. Maybe the author can. I request him/her to stand in some laughter challenge ad be a stand up comedian rather than write nonsense.
“Whether Rani is dating Aditya Chopra or not is irrelevant at the moment.”
And the author wrote an entire article based on this irrelevant matter. Almost every paragraph was saying the same irrelevant thing – She is exclusive YRF heroine, She is madam/malkin, etc. etc.
manoj16_391 23 September 2009
08:21:25 am
Agree with whatever Jha has said.The writing is on the wall for Rani.The sooner she realizes it,the better it’ll be for her if she wants to save her blushes and that of her fans.
pardesi 23 September 2009
10:02:26 am
An actress can do two things, chose a decent script and then give her best performance. Neither Rani not her fans have anything to blush about. Script sense is amazingly missing in actors of either gender today with some exceptions – notably Aamir, who is always able to pick a film that rises far above the acting. If actresses had script sense then Aishwarya would not have acted in all those amazingly bad films that no one recalls, or in Umrao Jaan. And Deepika would have avoided CCTC, and Priyanka LS 2050. I still remember the days when Aish was down and out and lifted herself up via item numbers in films like Bunty and Babli and Shakti. It is not over till it is over, and what is left behind cannot be erased. Even with all this poisonous writing, Rani is the standout actress of her generation after Madhuri.
sayrahul 23 September 2009
06:54:24 pm
“Despite her striking looks and exceptional talent, the law of averages has caught up with Rani Mukerji as well. The erstwhile reigning queen of Bollywood is presently struggling for that one elusive ‘hit’. Alas, it’s nowhere in sight…”
http://movies.rediff.com/slide.....ukerji.htm
Salim 24 September 2009
04:04:44 am
Shortly after k3g i became a big rani fan. I really loved her in Saathiya. And I liked just about all her work around that time. But recently i’ve just found something that I don’t like about her onscreen…i find it hard to describe other than perhaps she seems ‘fake’. I think it was her warmth that i used to like so much but now it doesn’t seem convincing.
It’s a shame cos she was the only ‘complete’ actress we had.
Caulfield 24 September 2009
04:57:10 am
“It’s a shame cos she was the only ‘complete’ actress we had.”
I don’t think Rani Mukherjee is a complete actress. For me if ever there was a complete actress in Indian cinema, it is Madhuri Dixit.
Second would be Jaya Bhaduri. Third – Waheeda Rehman.
Rani Mukherjee is brilliant in portraying layered characters. Like Paheli, Hum Tum, Saathiya. Black though wasn’t a layered character, was still very well played by Rani Mukherjee. The character she plays in DBH belongs more to the Kajol’s territory than Rani’s. Rani didn’t play it badly but Kajol would have done it better IMO.
Salim 24 September 2009
07:32:37 am
I meant to say ’she was the last complete actress’, rather than the ‘only’! I do feel she was a very good all rounder – she’s beautiful, she can dance and I think she’s shown she can act. None of the current lot are able to do all three.
Totally agree about Madhuri – was chatting about her to my flatmate yesterday, and looking at some of best dances. I wonder what if she’d been acting at the time of Bimal Roy and Guru Dutt…
I think Waheeda was even more ‘complete’ than Madhuri – legend
Jaya is in my top three favourite actresses of all time…but she couldn’t dance to save her life and sadly her career didn’t allow her to display how versatile she could have been.
manoj16_391 24 September 2009
08:11:52 am
Pardesi,
So you think MP,Fanaa,Ghajini are instances of a great script sense?LOL!
Anyway,an actor requires much more than just choosing a “decent/good” script and giving his 100%.An actor has to understand whether the “good” script will suit him or not.The term “good” itself is highly subjective .What is good for me may not be good for you.
Why do you think Hrithik rejected “good” scripts like RDB and Swades?He knew that he was not the right person for those movies at that point of time.So what sounded “good” to Siddharth and SRK did not sound the same to Hrithik and all 3 were right on their parts.Hrithik,in his salad days in bollywood(early 2000), could never have delineated the character of the Great Akbar as amazingly as he did last year.
Rani needs to choose a script that that she can relate to at this point of her career.Just because some younger actresses have found success in bikini tops and skimpy outfits doesnt mean that the same would hold true for Rani.She is way past the age that is required for a role like DBH.Ash’s hot avatar worked very well in Dhoom 2(2006) but I have serious doubts if such a role would work for her now.The good thing is that Ash is not as foolish as Rani
She refused to be a part of Dostana.She knows what is “good” for her at this point of her career and hence has her hands full with movies from top-notch directors.