Early Life and Background
Mukerji was born in Mumbai on 21 March 1978 to a film-oriented family of Bengali origin. Her father, Ram Mukherjee, is a retired director and one of the founders of Filmalaya Studios while her mother, Krishna, was a playback singer. Her brother, Raja Mukherjee, is a film producer turned director. Her maternal aunt, Debashree Roy, is a Bengali film actress and her cousin, Kajol, is a popular Bollywood actress. Another cousin of hers, Ayan Mukerji is the writer and director of Wake Up Sid (2009). As part of a tradition, the Mukherjee family celebrates the festival of Durga Puja at Santacruz every year. Mukerji, being a religious person, takes part in the festivities with her entire family.
Mukerji is a trained Odissi dancer and began learning the dance in the tenth grade. She was schooled at Maneckji Cooper High School in Juhu, and graduated from SNDT Women's University in the field of Home Science. Despite her family background, Mukerji was never interested in becoming an actress. In 1994, director Salim Khan approached her to be a part of his directorial, Aa Gale Lag Jaa. Her father was against her working in films and hence, she turned down the offer. However, she finally decided to take up acting on an experimental basis, on the insistence of her mother.
Read more about this topic: Rani Mukerji
Famous quotes containing the words early, life and/or background:
“The Americans never use the word peasant, because they have no idea of the class which that term denotes; the ignorance of more remote ages, the simplicity of rural life, and the rusticity of the villager have not been preserved among them; and they are alike unacquainted with the virtues, the vices, the coarse habits, and the simple graces of an early stage of civilization.”
—Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859)
“I had this advantage, at least, in my mode of life, over those who were obliged to look abroad for amusement, to society and the theatre, that my life itself was become my amusement and never ceased to be novel. It was a drama of many scenes and without an end.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“In the true sense one’s native land, with its background of tradition, early impressions, reminiscences and other things dear to one, is not enough to make sensitive human beings feel at home.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)