Rani Mukerji turns 40, pens letter expressing herself

Rani Mukerji who is busy promoting her upcoming film Hichki, these days, turned 40 on Wednesday. On this day the Mardaani actress penned down an emotional letter expressing her feelings on turning a year older. “It feels great to be 40. It feels great to have worked for 22 years and having been incredibly lucky to get so much love and appreciation,” reads the first few lines of Rani’s letter, posted by Yash Raj Films on social media.

In her letter, Rani mentions the struggles a woman artiste has to face in the industry. “Very rarely do we artists get material that can genuinely cause social change, cause change in attitude and thinking and I have been fortunate enough to get such content multiple times. I truly feel blessed. I thank all the film-makers who have trusted me with their characters. Your characters, your films, became my identity,” reads an excerpt from the letter. Addressing the stereotypes that prevail, especially for a married actress, she wrote, “As a woman, I must admit, it has not been an easy journey. 

I had to prove myself every day. Actresses have to prove themselves every day. A woman has a short career span, a married woman’s equity dies, women are not bankable commodities at the box office, ‘female-centric’ (I hate this word!!) films are huge risks, a married actress who is also a mother is the final nail in the coffin of her dreams, ambitions and aspirations—these are some of the discriminatory stereotypes that we have to live with and try to overcome every single day.” Hichki, which releases this Friday, is Rani’s first film after giving birth to Adira.  “I have tried to take on this sexist stereotype by coming back to acting after my marriage and motherhood,” she wrote. Rani and filmmaker Aditya Chopra (who owns Yash Raj Films) tied the knot in 2014 and were blessed with a daughter in 2015.