Rani’s dirty picture

Bollywood actresses seem hell-bent on breaking the mould, with each trying to top the other with outrageous roles. Rani Mukherjee, though, has decided to bite the ‘dare to be different’ challenge with full gusto. She plays a crazy heroine in Aiyyaa, a woman who falls in love with a man because of the way he smells. She has played bold roles before but this one is by far her boldest. Excerpts from an interview:

How is your character in Aiyyaa different from anything you have done before?

The first point would be that my character Meenakshi is unabashedly cool and she makes no bones about the fact that she is in love with herself. She would look at herself in the mirror and compliment her own eyes or her smile and her looks. And she is entertaining. Whatever she says is so funny, it’s ridiculously funny.

What has been your most endearing fan encounter?

I remember this three-year-old child who came with his parents to see me in London on the sets of Badal. He was a huge Kuch Kuch Hota Hai fan and he wanted to marry me. Once he got to sit in my lap, he just wouldn’t leave me. He kept kissing me and held me tight and wouldn’t let me go.

How painful was belly dancing for Aiyyaa? This is the first time we will see you move like that...

I always wondered watching Shakira’s videos that it must be a difficult thing to do. It is only your belly that is moving and it is obvious that there is definitely some technique involved. My good friend Vaibhavi Merchant, who has choreographed for Aiyyaa, told me I had to belly-dance and I was like ‘yay, yippee!’ I was excited, though I obviously did not know how to do it. I had to learn it.

How long did it take for you to get the technique right?

Well, Vaibhavi brought this person, Mehr, to train me how to belly-dance. The first day Mehr saw me she said, ‘You my dear, are a belly dancer.’ I told her I haven’t even started learning yet, but apparently she can figure out a belly dancer when she sees one. I started my training in the last week of January this year and my training ended in March.

What would you say is the best thing about being Rani Mukherjee right now?

I think the best part about being who I am right now is receiving the kind of love that I am from my audience. And my fans of course. My fans love me like crazy, they even fight for me. They literally treat me like a queen. It is nice to be treasured like this by people who like your work because at the end of the day, that is what defines you.