Rani Mukerji Gets Emotional Recalling How 'Ghulam' Makers Dubbed Her Voice, and Aamir Khan Became the Bad Cop: 'It Was Upsetting'
Rani Mukerji fought back tears as she thanked Karan Johar for standing by her at a time when producers and distributors were unsure of her voice.
Actor Rani Mukerji, who completes 30 years in cinema, opened up about her career in a special chat with her long-time filmmaker friend Karan Johar. Ahead of her latest release, Mardaani 3 , Mukerji spoke about her roller-coaster journey at the movies.
At the event, Mukerji became visibly emotional as she thanked Johar for standing by her at a time when producers and distributors were unsure of her voice.
The actor recalled her 1998 feature Ghulam, which was directed by Vikram Bhatt, produced by Mukesh Bhatt and starred Aamir Khan. Mukerji recalled how the makers decided to dub her voice, a news that was broken to her by Khan.
"It was a decision taken by probably Vikram, Mukesh ji and Aamir, but they made Aamir become the bad cop," said Mukerji, adding how the superstar tried his best to give the situation a logical reasoning, noting that even Sridevi, her favourite actor, had her voice dubbed initially but that didn't stop her from becoming a star.
"It was a little upsetting for me. But obviously, I couldn’t show the fact that I was upset because you need to be a team player whenever you’re part of a film. Even if there are personal disappointments, it doesn’t matter as long as the intent is true for the film," she said.
The actor then thanked Johar, who directed her in his debut Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), for retaining her voice despite getting to know that she was dubbed in Ghulam.
“Thanks to you, Karan, that I was able to retain my voice," Mukerji said, fighting back tears, as Johar walked up and kissed her on stage.
The filmmaker recalled how distributors had told him that Mukerji's voice "will not be accepted," and added, "You have such a beautiful voice that everyone knows that Rani Mukerji’s distinct voice is one of the big parts of your amazing performances," he added.
Mukerji will be next seen in Mardaani 3, gearing up for a January 30 release. The film is directed by Abhiraj Minawala and written by Aayush Gupta of The Railway Men fame.