Rani Mukerji and Aamir Khan in a still from Ghulam.
Rani Mukerji recalled that it was a collective decision of the makers of Ghulam and Aamir Khan to dub her voice in the film.
Rani Mukerji began her film career with Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat, but it was her role in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai that brought her to prominence. She also starred in Ghulam alongside Aamir Khan, where she garnered attention for the song Ae Kya Bolti Tu. The filmmakers of Ghulam chose to use a dubbing artist for Rani’s voice as they were uncertain if her natural voice would suit the film. In a recent interview, Rani mentioned that Aamir Khan was seen as the ‘bad cop; in that situation.
“It wasn’t a very normal-sounding voice. It’s my voice, and it’s different, but I think at that time, it was just the fact that they were taking this big bet on a newcomer with Aamir Khan, who is already an established actor, and they were going… that’s what Vikram (Bhatt, director) explained, that they were going with just the chatter that was happening in the edit rooms. ‘Yeh ladki ki awaz thodi alag hai (This girl has a different voice)’,” she recalled in a chat with Galatta India.
Rani mentioned that back then, it was common for female actors to have their voices dubbed by others, especially if they weren’t fluent in Hindi. She said Aamir cited Sridevi as an example, recalling how her voice was dubbed in many films. “Especially Sridevi ji. For many years of her life, her voice was dubbed, and she was one of my favourite actresses. So, I remember Aamir telling me, ‘Rani, you know your favourite actress is Sridevi, her voice was dubbed in so many films. It doesn’t matter. We have to do what’s best for our film’. He was made to become the bad cop at that point of time. But I don’t think they put very much thought to it. They just wanted to play it safe,” she said.
