'Marriage rumour is affecting my career'

Rani Mukerji claims that rumours about her getting married have started affecting her career.

"These rumours have been going on for three years and have started affecting my career," she says "A lot of filmmakers, who approach me for roles, start by asking whether I am getting married. They have apprehensions whether I can commit myself to their project.

"Besides, I can't get married to one man or different men for the last three years," she said. There had been rumours that Rani was married to filmmaker and her Dil Bole Hadippa producer Aditya Chopra.

"I am the only daughter of my parents. When I get married, it will be announced publicly and will take place with pomp," Rani said.

The star added that the 'most laughable' rumour was that she had left her posh Juhu bungalow because it had brought her ill luck and moved back to her old flat at Andheri.

"I made the new house for my family from my hard work, sweat and blood. My house is my temple, how can I run away from it? I am being made to look like an insecure person, which I am not," she said.

The actress said she preferred to concentrate on her films and make her fans happy, rather than waste time clarifying bizarre rumours.

Rani admitted that she was an odd one out in an industry where networking is a major part of the profession.

"It is a shortcoming that I have, as I don't like to talk about my daily life. The media has taken advantage of my silence and communicated to my fans very wrongly," she said.

Rani said three years ago when the rumours about her marriage started, her father had to come on television to clarify.

"No father should be put through such misery. Despite clarifications, the rumours have continued. You have to believe what I am saying. But, if you still continue spreading stories about me, I can't stop you," Rani said.

Rani said Dil Bole Hadippa came to her at the right time when she got feedback that she was crying too much on screen and doing serious roles. Her last release Thoda Pyar Thoda Magic unfortunately did not do well.

The most tedious task for the actress was applying glue on her face to stick the beard. "When I became Veer -- the cricket loving Sikh boy -- the men in the unit forgot that I was Rani," she recalled.

Rani said she has not taken a break from movies for a while. "I started working on Haddipa immediately after my last release. I can do two-three films at a time if they have great roles. I don't want to prove anything to my detractors that I work only in Yash Raj films. If Yash Raj offers me challenging roles, I will take up those projects," she said.

The actress said she has not worn a bikini in Dil Bole Hadippa. "Bikini is a very strong word. I have just worn a bikini top with salwar," she said. "When you lose weight and tone your body, people want to dress you up in a different way and there is no harm in trying it."

She said the glam look was for the music video of the film. "In the film, I could not take liberties because the glam look would not go well with the character I play. But in the music videos, I could be portrayed differently," she said.

When asked about her lost numero uno status, Rani claimed number games did not affect actors. "The number games are for those who believe in it," she explained. "The roles that I get make me the actor I am. Getting challenging roles is the best part of being in any stage of your career. I am trying to reinvent myself as an actor and as a looker."

The actress said that she did not want to work in random films. "I am waiting for a great offer," she said. "I want to work with Vishal Bhardwaj, Imitiaz Ali and Anurag Basu. But they have to come up with something which I would like to do."