Rani Mukerji’s mother Krishna Mukerji dies at 75: All about the former playback singer

Mumbai: Rani Mukerji’s mother, Krishna Mukerji, passed away on Tuesday afternoon at the age of 75. Yash Raj Films confirmed the news in a statement issued on behalf of the family and requested privacy as they mourn their loss. The cause of her death has not been disclosed.

“With heavy hearts, we share that Rani Mukerji's mother Mrs Krishna Mukerji, 75, passed away this afternoon. The family is deeply grateful for your love, prayers, and support and respectfully requests privacy during this time of immense grief,” the statement read.

While Krishna Mukerji was best known publicly as Rani Mukerji’s mother, she had her own connection to the film industry. She was a playback singer associated with Bengali cinema and is credited as a playback singer on films including ‘Momer Alo’, ‘Haiwan’, ‘Teesri Aankh’ and ‘Tomar Rakte Amar Sohag’. 

Krishna Mukerji’s connection to cinema

Krishna came from a family that was closely connected to films and married filmmaker Ram Mukerji. Ram was a director, producer and screenwriter who worked in both Hindi and Bengali cinema and was among the founders of Filmalaya Studios. He died in October 2017.

The couple had two children, Rani Mukerji and filmmaker-producer Raja Mukerji. Rani grew up surrounded by people from the film industry, although she has spoken about initially having little interest in becoming an actor.

Krishna largely remained away from the spotlight compared with her daughter. However, she was a familiar presence at important moments in Rani’s career and accompanied her to several public events over the years.

Rani has spoken about her close relationship with her mother on several occasions. Krishna was also part of the family support system behind the actor’s career as she established herself in Hindi cinema.

Rani went on to become one of Bollywood’s leading actors, with films such as ‘Ghulam’, ‘Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’,’ Saathiya’, ‘Hum Tum’ and ‘Black’ among her best-known work. She later returned to the screen after motherhood with ‘Hichki’ and continued with films including ‘Mardaani 2’ and ‘Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway’.

The family has asked for privacy as they grieve. Details regarding the last rites have not been publicly announced.

Agency inputs