Mixed reactions of friends, colleagues and the box office to the racing melodrama on the silver screen did not succeed in keeping me away from an afternoon screening of Ta Ra Rum Pum a few weeks ago. As I walk out of a Mumbai multiplex after viewing the speed-filled family drama, I realise that I have enjoyed the experience – with its fair share of emotions and a suspension of disbelief – largely due to the performances of its main leads, Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukerji. And scheduled as I am to meet the petite actress, I have watched the flick with a greater degree of interest. As I step into the sunlight from the darkened theatre, two adjectives come immediately to mind vis-à-vis ‘The Queen’: sure and steady.

Mukerji is enjoying rare days of relaxation…prior to beginning shooting again for Pradeep Sarkar’s Laaga Chunari Mein Daag. It is precious time spent with family, looking after her house and playing with her little niece who has just celebrated a birthday. They are days she enjoys spending at home, lazing around, getting up on her own time with no tight schedules. I think back to the years she has spent in the industry – a decade where every year has been marked by a Rani Mukerji film at the box office. Interestingly, though a few of her movies may have been duds at the marquee, her performances – and their sincerity – have always been singled out for attention.

The star arrives and steps out of her vehicle – oozing star quality from every pore – into the shade of a huge umbrella held aloft by her flunky. Clad in a casual T-shirt and jeans, she disappears into the make-up van to prepare for our shoot and we settle down for our confabulation. Our conversation kick-starts with the year that has just gone by. She has made news once more not just at the all-important marquee but in media reports about her impending marriage and speculation about slights as well. But whether it is imagined hurts or spiralling rumours, the 29-year-old actress prefers to stay out of the media glare, for anything but her work. “Even if there has been a misunderstanding or a story about me, I really do not get the time to sort it out. I am lazy by nature. You are trying to clarify what is in someone’s imagination and I do not like to explain myself to anyone,” she states.

Work wise, she is on a roll and although she often jokes, “I am Rani but I have no throne,” the actress is undoubtedly the ruling talent on the silver screen firmament. The next few months will witness the release of two more Mukerji films (Laaga Chunari Mein Daag and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Saawariya) in which the actress gives her interpretation of a sex worker/courtesan. And the last 12-months plus have seen three big releases (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, Baabul and Ta Ra Rum Pum) with her name in the credits. I first spotlight KANK, Karan Johar’s brave look at marital discord. As Maya Talwar trapped in a passionless marriage – albeit to the hot Rishi Talwar (Abhishek Bachchan) – who is drawn to a professional failure Dev Saran (Shah Rukh Khan), both she and her screen alter ego had drawn comment. “I know,” she admits. “Karan even went on talk shows to explain his point of view; he had only told a truthful story about two couples. Personally I may not have been all that comfortable playing the role but its significance made sense to me. I had always looked at marriage through rose-tinted spectacles. But you have to marry for the right reason. As an unmarried girl, KANK made me realise many things. Why must a wife be happy just because her husband is seemingly perfect and happy with her? What if the woman falls in love after finding this supposedly perfect husband? A man can find passion outside marriage no matter how attentive his wife is. But a woman doing the same is absolutely unacceptable. Your biggest and best friend can become a big enemy if you are sharing the space of a bed and are not compatible in every possible way.”