While Rani Mukerji will be seen reprising her role in Bunty Aur Babli 2, the audience finally got to see Saif Ali Khan as Bunty and the new Bunty Aur Babli jodi of Siddhant Chaturvedi and Sharvari Wagh in the film that released today (November 19). The film is an official sequel to Shaad Ali’s 2005 […]

Mumbai Nov 17 PTI Actor Rani Mukerji says no amount of experience can combat pre-release anxiety which ironically also keeps artistes alive because they are fuelled by the anticipation of audiences responseMukerji returns to the big screen with the upcoming comedy Bunty Aur Babli 2 two years after her actioner Mardaani 2The film which was initially set to be released in 2020 but was pushed due to the pandemic is finally set to open across cinemas this FridayIn an interview with PTI Mukerji said she is still as nervous about her latest Yash Raj Films project as she was when she started her career in the 1990sThe anxiety of a new film releasing never fades Nothing ever fades As actors we always wait for the reactions of the audience for whom we work We are greedy for adulation If you are not greedy for adulation you cant be a true actor because when we perform you want to hear the claps and whistlesIf I am not waiting for my films release not waiting to hear what the audience thinks of me then I should pack my bags and leave For every actor the nerves are always there Whether it is their first film 20th film or 100th we always wait to know what is going to happen on that Friday she saidThe movie is a sequel to the 2005 Shaad Ali-directed blockbuster which featured Mukerji and Abhishek Bachchan as the titular characters of con-artistsIn Bunty Aur Babli 2 Mukerji is joined by actor Saif Ali Khan her co-star of several films like Hum Tum Ta Ra Rum Pum and Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic to play the other half of the duo BuntyThe actor said the success of Bunty Aur Babli which also featured megastar Amitabh Bachchan as a cop desperate to catch the con couple led to the immediate possibility of a sequel but the team took time to crack the ideaIn the new film directed by Varun V Sharma Mukerji and Khan are pitted against the new-age con artists played by Gully Boy breakout Siddhant Chaturvedi and debutante SharvariThe story came after 15 years There was a long gap because they could not crack the sequel Right after the first film there were talks that Shaad and Aditya Chopra will come together for the sequel But Shaad didnt get a track so he went to make Kill Dill instead Adi had this story idea which he shared with Varun Then he came up with his version which was really crackingThe premise of having these youngsters come in was interesting Even for me as an actor to take a character and see it after 10 years was refreshing We rarely get a chance to take our characters further on and in a different set-up she saidThe 43-year-old actor went on to feature in several films post Bunty Aur Babli including Karan Johars mature romance Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna drama Laaga Chunari Mein Daag thrillers No One Killed Jessica and Talaash with Aamir Khan but no character Mukerji said evolved with her like that of Vimmi aka BabliPicking up from where her character had left more than a decade ago Mukerji said both she and Babli are mothers today and have different sets of responsibilitiesThe actor has a five-year-old daughter Adira with producer-husband Aditya Chopra chairman and managing director of production house Yash Raj FilmsWhen I played Babli the first time around I was truly carefree like her Today I am a mother and so is she So the role is going parallelly to my life as well A new film brings with itself new situations and characterisation in the sense that now she is 10 years older than what she was in the first filmHer innate character has not changed but it is about how she would be 10 years later So it was not difficult for me as I have also evolved grown older and have different responsibilities and viewpoints in life It was interesting for me to do this she addedAt the core of it all Mukerji said her film choices reflect the kind of women who exist in the country today All her recent films are an attempt to give diverse female characters the required platform the actor addedI get really excited when I am offered roles where my character represents Indian women in a really strong way Be it Babli Shivani Shivaji Roy of Mardaani or Naina Mathur of Hichki I have always been attracted to portraying strong women on screen PTI JUR RDS RDS BK BK