Exclusive Interview: Let out the Mardaani within, says Rani Mukherjee

You began your career playing a rape victim who has to marry her rapist in Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat (1997). From there to Mardaani is a big leap
I don't think so. Even in what are called conventional characters in chiffons in breezy romances, I've only said yes to films where female characters are not mere decorations. I've always tried to portray strong women in all my films because when people see movies they should get inspired.

In Hum Tum, my character wouldn't simply marry a guy because she has slept with him; in Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, she is willing to walk out of a loveless marriage against societal norms. InBlack, my character showed how a differently-abled woman can work against speech, hearing and vision impairment to succeed. Even inPaheli, she wants to fulfil herself even if it means accepting a ghost as a partner.

But Mardaani is very different from all those characters
Yes, Shivani Shivaji Roy is different. Whenever we think of cops we think of a male police officer kicking goons. During research forMardaani, I met some great inspiring female officers. These are people managing domestic responsibilities of being daughters, sisters, mothers and wives, and can still kick goons, when needed, just as well or better than a man. The challenge with such roles is to make them believable and real. It can take very little for a character to become over-the-top. Finding the right balance is important.

Several movies in the past too spoke of empowering women. But this hasn't translated into change at the grass roots...
People come to a movie to munch popcorn and enjoy. Here, we're consciously trying to ensure that we don't get preachy and bore people and yet we want to leave them with a message. The tough female cop, child trafficking, and challenges faced by the police drive home a message without taking away from audiences' expectations of popular entertainment.

And the message is?
The film is trying to tell women to let out the Mardaani within. If it means taking on the baddies then so be it. Already, a few women in Jhansi have gone on record to say how Mardaani promos spurred them into action against some guys harassing women.

But isn't it irresponsible to say violence is the only answer?
Violence may not be the only answer; but is their an alternative? I don't think the film is irresponsible. It's a warning that our system is collapsing and if the leadership doesn't take control of the country the person on the street, who is suffering, will. The threshold to people's tolerance has been crossed several times over. There is hardly a day that goes by without one reading of sexual violence against women. Instead of waiting helplessly for a saviour, what is wrong with women taking on the baddies themselves?

Many feel Shivani Shivaji Roy is the female avatar of Bajirao Singham
That's unfair to both the films. Singham Returns is a big film, which I thoroughly enjoyed. With Mardaani, we are simply asking women to be unapologetic and assertive about their rights.

Some have questioned why Mardaani furthers a stereotype of anything brave a woman does as being 'man-like'
That's too narrow a sense to make of the word Mardaani. I've been named after Rani Laxmibai and I heard "...Khoob ladi mardaani woh toh Jhansiwali Rani Thhi" since a very early age. The nuance that I get from this line doesn't belittle women; it tells me that she can do everything that both she and a man can do and be good at both.

Would you agree, though, that in real life women in power are forced to take up men as role models because of our patriarchal set-up?
That's being unfair. Tell me what would you expect women to wear when they have to run around as cops? Trousers are the most comfortable. But to say they wear pants like a man is wrong. In No One Killed Jessica, my character smokes and swears a lot. But that's because of her background. If the society doesn't judge a man for what he wears, how much he smokes or swears; why should women be held up to different standards? As a society, we'll have to begin appreciating people for their performance irrespective of gender.

Would you agree that Bollywood is finally giving women their due with women-centric subjects?
Nobody does anything just like that. As women come into their own in society, literature, movies have had to revise their notions on how they will portray them. Does this mean we need more films like Mardaani? We do. Whether we bring about a change or not, even if we inspire girls to fight for their own respect, we will have achieved a lot.