Rani Mukerji pens an emotional letter about her struggle in Bollywood

Rani Mukerji

Rani Mukerji

Rani Mukerji celebrates her 40th birthday today, as she also eagerly awaits the release of her upcoming film Hichki on March 23. This is the gorgeous actress' first film after embracing motherhood, and she is really looking forward to the film to do well. Following is the letter that the actress has penned down to let the world know how Bollywood treats their women.

Read here the letter written by Rani Mukerji:

It feels great to be 40! It feels great to have also worked for 22 years and having been incredibly lucky to get so much love and appreciation. Very rarely do we artists get material that can genuinely cause social change, cause change in attitude and thinking and I have been fortunate enough to get such content multiple times. I truly feel blessed. I thank all the film-makers who have trusted me with their characters. Your characters, your films, became my identity.

I realised very late that I was actually born to be an actor, that I was born to entertain. And/hope I have been able to do just that As a woman, I must admit, it has not been an easy journey. I had to prove myself everyday. Actresses have to prove themselves everyday. A woman has a short career span, a married woman's equity dies, women are not bankable commodities at the box office, 'female-centric' c hate this word!!) films are huge risks, a married actress who is also a mother is the final nail in the coffin of her dreams, ambitions and aspirations - these are some of the discriminatory stereotypes that we have to live with and try to overcome every single day.

For a woman, the disparity with a man is huge and glaring in this industry. We am judged for our looks, our dancing skills, our height, our voice, our acting, how we carry ourselves every time we step outs/the house - we have to be the best and yet we are thought to be extremely dispensable. I have been asking my friends to talk about their weaknesses and how they overcame them. On my birthday I cannot skirt these massive hichkis that my fellow actresses and/have faced/face and will face every day.

I have tried to take on this sexist stereotype by coming back to acting after my marriage and motherhood. And I promise you, I will continue working and battling these stereotypes with all my fellow stunning, beautiful kind and talented actresses and hope to see our society and the film industry mature further I can already see the changes for the better and it fills me with joy It makes my journey, my career meaningful. I want to see many more victories for all of us. It's about time. I will be back soon - to try and entertain you, to push the envelope again. Till then, love you all.

Yours forever,
RANI

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates