12 Times Rani Mukherjee Rocked our World

Celebrate this Bengali beauty's birthday with 12 of her best tracks!

[Photo Source: Pinterest]

With over 2 decades in Bollywood under her belt, a 2014 wedding to filmy big-wig Aditya Chopra, and the birth of their daughter Adira in December 2015, Rani Mukherjee has a lot to celebrate on her birthday on March 21!

In honor of her 38th birthday, let’s take a look back at some of her best songs.

1. “Aye Kya Bolti Tu” from “Ghulam”

This hit song from the 1998 film “Ghulam” helped establish Mukherjee’s footing in Bollywood despite her small role in this movie.

2. “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai” from “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai”

1998 continued to be a big year for Mukherjee and she made an impact in her brief role as Tina opposite Kajol’s Anjali and Shahrukh Khan’s Rahul in Karan Johar’s directorial debut. Mukherjee won many supporting actress accolades during the film awards circuit, and “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai” was her first big commercial and critical success.

3. “Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega” from “Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega”

After a string of commercial failures, Mukherjee finally found more success at the box office with this 2000 movie opposite Salman Khan that has some touches of Hollywood’s “While You Were Sleeping” sprinkled throughout the story.

4. “Dekhne Walon Ne” from “Chori Chori Chupke Chupke”

“Chori Chori Chupke Chupke” is about surrogate pregnancy featured Mukherjee with Salman Khan as her husband and bubbly Preity Zinta as her surrogate. The movie was pretty terrible and overall forgettable, except for the infamous Bharat Shah case that culminated after it was revealed that the movie was financed partially by people heavily involved in Mumbai’s mafia. However, the song “Dekhne Walon Ne” is a lovely track beautifully captured by the filmmakers!

5. “Say Shava Shava” from “Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham”

Johar brought Mukherjee into the mix with SRK and Kajol again in a super brief role in this 2001 family saga. Her appearance in “Say Shava Shava” and a few scenes with Khan aside, Mukherjee’s role as Naina served mostly to creep out audiences at how much Amitabh Bachchan’s onscreen father figure was interested in her.

6. “Jaane Dil Mein” from “Mujhse Dosti Karoge”

“Mujhse Dosti Karoge” was released with an incredible amount of fanfare in 2002 thanks to the all-star cast featuring Mukherjee alongside Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor-Khan. It did fairly well at the box office and helped kick off what promised to be a good year for Mukherjee.

7. “Chalka Chalka Re” from “Saathiya”

Shaad Ali’s 2002 directorial debut with “Saathiya,”— the remake of a hit Tamil film—proved to be a turning point in Mukherjee’s career. Critically and commercially successful, “Saathiya” featured Mukherjee opposite Vivek Oberoi in a role that was made for her. If you haven’t already seen this movie, then find a way to watch it ASAP, everything about it was wonderful, including A.R. Rahman’s soundtrack.

8. “Ladki Kyon” from “Hum-Tum”

This 2004 romantic comedy featured Mukherjee opposite Saif Ali Khan and it proved to be one of the most successful movies of the year. It simultaneously established Mukherjee as both a strong actress and a bankable star. The track “Ladki Kyon” is an adorable track portraying the time old boys vs. girls fight.

9. “Dhadak Dhadak” from “Bunty Aur Babli”

Shaad Ali helped give Mukherjee another huge hit with this 2005 Bonnie and Clyde-esque film that also starred father and son duo, Abhishek Bachchan and Amitabh Bachchan on screen together for the first time.

10. “Tumhi Dekho Na” from “Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna”

Mukherjee turned down the role that eventually went to Tabu in Mira Nair’s “The Namesake” to play Maya Talwar in this 2006 film. Mukherjee’s Maya ultimately finds love with SRK’s Dev—both of whom are in unhappy marriages with other people. “Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna’s” starcast also included Preity Zinta, Abhishek Bachchan, Amitabh Bachchan, and Kirron Kher. The film’s success just added to Mukherjee’s growing list of blockbuster films.

11. “Kachchi Kaliyaan” from “Laaga Chunari Mein Daag”

2007 proved to be the beginning of Mukherjee’s waning success at the box office. “Laaga Chunari Mein Daag’s” ensemble cast, including Abhishek Bachchan, Kunal Kapoor, Konkona Sen Sharma, Jaya Bachchan, and Anupam Kher. A unique storyline and an all-star cast did not help the film do well commercially, however Mukherjee did earn some critical praise for her role.

12. “Ishq Hi Hai Rab” from “Dil Bole Hadippa”

After a dramatic makeover and a lot of pre-release hype, Mukherjee starred opposite Shahid Kapoor in this 2009 romantic comedy where she pretends to be a man to join her local cricket league. I enjoyed “Dil Bole Hadippa,” but sadly not many other people did—and after this movie’s release, Mukherjee took a bit of a hiatus from films.

In 2011, Mukherjee was back with a bang in the semi-biographical thriller “No One Killed Jessica.” The film was a critical and commercial success, and Mukherjee appeared to have landed on solid ground again after a few unsteady years in the industry. Her most recent successful roles include her performance in “Talaash: The Answer Lies Within” and the 2014 crime drama about human trafficking in India, “Mardaani” – both of which were commercially and critically successful.

Here’s wishing Mukherjee a happy birthday and hoping to see her onscreen again soon!