Bollywood actress Rani Mukerji shared a heartfelt letter on Wednesday to mark her 40th birthday.
The actress addressed some serious issues - unrealistic expectations from actresses, gender disparities in the industry, frowned upon social causes - in her letter.
Rani started her letter with a warm thanks to the filmmakers who banked on the star to cast her in their films.
"It feels great to be 40! It feels great to have also worked for 22 years and have been incredibly lucky to get so much love and appreciation. Very rarely do we artists get material that can genuinely cause social change, cause change in attitude and thinking and I have been fortunate enough to get such content multiple times.
I truly feel blessed. I thank all the film-makers who have trusted me with their characters. Your characters, your films, became my identity," the actress said.
She continued and shared how she identified the industry's call and wrote, "I realised very late that I was actually born to be an actor, that I was born to entertain. And I hope I have been able to do just that".
"As a woman, I must admit, it has not been an easy journey. I had to prove myself everyday. Actresses have to prove themselves everyday.
A woman has a short career span, a married woman's equity dies, women are not bankable commodities at the box office, 'female-centric' (I hate this word!) films are huge risks, a married actress who is also a mother is the final nail in the coffin of her dreams, ambitions and aspirations - there are some of the discriminatory stereotypes that we have to live with and try to overcome every single day", she continued and talked about the hardships faced by the women in the industry.
"For a woman, the disparity with a man is huge and glaring in this industry. We are judged for our looks, our dancing skills, our height, our voice, our acting, how we carry ourselves every time we step out of the house - we have to be the best and yet we are thought to be extremely dispensable.
I have been asking my friends to talk about their weaknesses and how they overcame them. On my birthday, I cannot skirt these massive hichkis that my fellow actresses ad I have faced/face and will face every day."
She concluded the letter with on a note full of hopefulness and optimism. She wrote, "I have tried to take on this sexist stereotype by coming back to acting after my marriage and motherhood.
And I promise you, I will continue working and battling these stereotypes with all of my fellow stunning, beautiful, kind, and talented actresses and hope to see our society and the film industry mature, I can already see the changes for the better and it fills me with joy. It makes my journey, my career meaningful.
I want to see many more victories for all of us. It's about time. I will be back soon - to try and entertain you, to push the envelope again".
She signed off the letter with love and wrote, "Till then, love you all. Yours forever, RANI".
Rani has been making rounds for the promotions of her upcoming film, 'Hichki'.
The film depicts the life of a common girl played by the 'Mardani' star, who has a nervous system disorder called, Tourette syndrome that forces people who are suffering from it to make repetitive movements or sounds, involuntarily.
The film is helmed by Siddharth P Malhotra and produced by Maneesh Sharma. The film is slated to hit the screens on March 23.
