Bollywood actress Rani Mukerji spoke at length about the responsibility of portraying strong women on screen and the emotional origins of the Mardaani franchise during Bollywood Hungama’s Hangout at St Xavier’s College, held as part of promotions for her upcoming film Mardaani 3, slated to release on January 30, 2026.
Responding to a question on whether the responsibility of representing women weighs on her mind, Rani first addressed the younger audience present at the venue, asking them about their year of birth. Realising the students belonged to Gen Z, she placed the franchise in historical context, saying, “So 2014 is when Mardaani one was born.”
Rani recalled how the first Mardaani took shape against the backdrop of the Nirbhaya case, an incident that deeply impacted the nation. “The first part… you all must be aware of the Nirbhaya case, which kind of shook the entire nation at that point of time. It was a very shocking incident,” she said. Reflecting on the emotional aftermath, she added, “The sheer brutality of the case, the sheer audacity of which the crime was committed… it kind of shook us as a nation. As women, as girls, I think we were shocked. We were completely shattered.”
She explained that Mardaani was never conceived as a franchise but as a response to collective anger and grief. “Mardaani was born out of the sheer rage and anger that we felt as a team—whether it was Aditya Chopra the producer, me as an actor, Pradeep Sarkar the director, Gopi Puthran the writer,” she said, emphasising that the film stemmed from a shared emotional urgency rather than commercial intent.
Rani underlined that the social issues the film addressed in 2014 remain unresolved even today. “The conversation from 2014 to 2026 hasn’t changed. The safety of women is still spoken about. The audacity of such cases is still spoken about. The missing girls, the problems that we women face—it’s only increasing,” she noted.
Talking about Mardaani 3, the actress revealed that the upcoming instalment focuses on the issue of missing girls, reinforcing the need for awareness and dialogue. “There has to be more awareness, more conversations because you all girls will go to college, sometimes you come back late. There are young girls who work late at night,” she said, stressing the everyday realities women continue to navigate.
She concluded by placing responsibility on society at large rather than cinema alone. “We have to make girls aware. We have to be aware of ourselves. And that’s how the safety of the future and the present lies in our society,” she stated.
Directed by Abhiraj Minawala and produced by Aditya Chopra, Mardaani 3 continues the franchise’s engagement with real-world issues. The Mardaani series remains India’s only successful female-led franchise centred on a woman police officer, with Rani Mukerji reprising her role as Shivani Shivaji Roy once again.
Also Read: 30 Years of Rani Mukerji: Mardaani 3 actress to join Karan Johar for special interaction
The post EXCLUSIVE: “Mardaani was born out of the rage we felt after the Nirbhaya case,” reveals Rani Mukerji; says women’s safety hasn’t changed since 2014 appeared first on Bollywood Hungama.
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