New Delhi: Bollywood actress Rani Mukerji won her first-ever National Award earlier this week for Best Actress for her performance in Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway. At the ceremony held in New Delhi, the actress caught attention for wearing a pendant engraved with her daughter Adira’s name. Rani has now revealed that the necklace was a tribute to her daughter, who could not attend the event.

Tribute to her daughter

In an interview with India Today, Rani explained that her daughter had wanted to accompany her to the National Awards ceremony, but children under the age of 14 were not allowed. “She was howling because she wanted to be part of the National Award function. We were told that children under 14 were not allowed. I had to tell her that you cannot be with me. She said it was ‘unfair’ that she couldn’t be with me on my special day. I asked her not to worry and told her that I will have you with me on my special day,” Rani recalled.

“She’s my lucky charm. I wanted her with me, and this was the closest I could do,” she added.

Rani further said that the social media reactions helped calm her daughter. “I want to thank everyone who made those reels and snippets on Instagram, writing that ‘Rani carried her daughter along.’ I showed them to Adira, and it calmed her down,” she shared.

About her National Award win

Speaking about her award-winning performance, Rani revealed that her character in Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway was modeled on her own mother. “So about Mrs Chatterjee, what input I had on the character, I actually modelled that on my mother. It is the closest that I could be to Bengali women who are Calcutta born and brought up there. Because I have lived my life and grown up in Mumbai,” she said.

“The only person who I could think of was my mother and I modelled Devika’s character exactly as she would be and how she was. And when I grew up, that’s what I saw and how my mother raised me. Completely got my mother in my head and I played the character of Devika like her,” Rani added.

The National Award marks a milestone in Rani’s career, celebrating her talent and the personal connection she brought to her role.