Rani Mukerji: Understood value of human life through 'Black'

MUMBAI: Actress Rani Mukerji says it is because of the film "Black", which has completed 15 years of its release in Hindi cinema on Tuesday, she understood the value of human life.

"For me, 'Black' is one of my most special films because I really understood the value of human life and the fact that we have to be thankful and grateful for our lives and the way we are born. I think this very strongly got embedded in my heart and my head," Rani, who effortlessly played the specially-abled girl named Michelle McNally in the film, said.

Rani talked about how the film's director Sanjay Leela Bhansali's vision had impacted her life and career.

"After all, I was really thankful that every day I would leave the house being able to hear, being able to talk, being able to see and I think sometimes as human beings we take these things for granted and I think we can't be more thankful to God every day that we are leaving our homes with all our 3 senses intact which are very, very important," she said.

"Black", which also features megastar Amitabh Bachchan, revolved around a deaf-blind girl, and her relationship with her teacher who himself later develops Alzheimer's disease. The film draws inspiration from the life of Helen Keller, the blind academic and activist.

For Rani, Bhansali is one of her favourite filmmakers whose passion for cinema she adores.

"There was a lot of learning. It was a learning curve in my career. Black is one of my most important films and working with Sanjay Leela Bhansali, obviously, he is one of my favourite filmmakers. I love his vision, I love the way he directs us on the set he would literally treat me like a queen. I think we fed off each other's energies and we both were foodies and I remember eating really well."

"Sanjay was like -- Rani, there is one thing I have understood, is that whenever you eat well you give the best shots. So, he used to really, really want to feed me good food," she said.

She described "Black" as one of her most important films with Big B.

"I have very fond memories of Black and, of course, adding the icing to the whole thing was it was my first, most important, film with Mr. Bachchan. I had to just observe Mr. Bachchan on set seeing his dedication. So for me, I was literally like a student on this film -- learning, observing, watching, imbibing. So for me black will always stay one of those special films in my career. Though the film was a huge hit, but the memories that I made while shooting the film, I think, those memories I will always, always cherish throughout my life," she said.