Rani, the Bachchans' favorite heroine

  • IndiaGlitz, [Wednesday,April 20 2005]

Rani Mukherjee made a lasting onscreen impact with Amitabh Bachchan in "Black", and her character opposite Abhishek in "Yuva" won them both awards in the best supporting roles.

It is little wonder that both the father and son are all praise for the lady with the husky voice and light eyes, as she will now be featuring alongside both of them in Shaad Ali's adventure crime caper "Bunty Aur Babli".

That she is extremely professional, hardworking, gifted and easygoing is an oft-repeated comment, but the two Bachchans have their individual reasons to like sharing screen space with her.

"In her company, acting becomes a pleasure and a joy. That's why both Pa and I could do the most difficult roles. She makes the atmosphere on the sets so relaxed," enthuses Abhishek.

The senior Bachchan recalls how during "Black" Rani would constantly keep a watch over him. "To make sure I didn't over-tire myself, that I was comfortable. She would ask about my food... a very caring girl. We all are very fond of her."

In "Bunty..." too, Abhishek maintained: "Rani and I had so much fun, it wasn't funny! We just freaked out. It's so different from our other films together."

However, on telling him that the audiences saw Rani and him, as the Amitabh-Jaya avatar of the new millennium, Abhishek raises an eyebrow.

"Really? I don't think so. There cannot be another pair like Ma and Pa. But yes, Rani and I share a great comfort level. And that shows onscreen."

Adds the smiling Bachchan senior: "All three of us are together in 'Bunty...'. Though I don't have too many scenes with Rani - most of her interaction is with Abhishek - it was fun shooting.

"('Bunty...' is) quite a telling contrast from what we did in 'Black'. I think audiences will be pleasantly surprised to see how different in mood and treatment 'Bunty...' is from 'Black'."

He will again be co-starring with Rani in Ravi Chopra's "Babul".

"Yes, there we have a lot more scenes together. And it would certainly be another occasion after 'Black' to sharpen our skills as actors."

Later this year, both father and son will be again work with Rani in Karan Johar's directorial venture.

"Rani will be Abhishek's co-star. She'll have nothing to do with me in Karan's film," reveals Big B, who is also playing a cameo in Amol Palekar's Paheli starring Rani.

With so much of the Bachchans in her career, Rani seems to be in the most enviable position for a leading lady in Bollywood today.