Female cop characters in Bollywood are often portrayed in a superhuman monotone colour, as either props for humour or too far fetched from reality. Actress Rani Mukherjee describes how real cops are very different in terms of both personality and demeanour. Speaking about her character in soon-to-be-released Mardaani and how realistic the portrayal is, she says, “In this film, I am playing a no-nonsense courageous, brave female cop. It is a very real portrayal of a cop. It is something that I haven’t seen in Bollywood before and that makes Mardaani very special. The attempt here is to show female cops in the way they are in this country.”
Rani goes on to describe how cop films in Bollywood are increasingly detached from reality: “There is a great bias that exists between female and male cops. I would like to ask a question to all those people who feel a lady cop is different from male cop, would a lady pilot a plane differently from a male pilot? Why is it even fodder for humour? Will a lady pilot fly a plane upside down? Even with cops, even if you are a female you are doing your duty as brilliantly as any other male cop. Just because it is a female cop, one would say eh kya hai re! We are subjected to cop films, where a cop is kicking and ten people fly. So obviously that you will not get to see because it is not real. You will get to see a real portrayal.”
Setting a new benchmark in the emerging female-centric genre in Indian filmmaking on a world cinema platform, Rani Mukherjee champions her most challenging role to date in Yash Raj Films’ raw, gritty and topical thriller, Mardaani, releasing in cinemas worldwide on 22nd August 2014.
