Rani Mukherjee to play a cricketer!

"I really got a cultural shock when I went for my first screening test as I was asked to wear a mini-skirt and I was not used to it. I was never confident and was too happy to be rejected," says the actress who hails from a 'filmi' family.

The actress who was initially hesitant to enter Bollywood is now quite comfortable with a host of films in her kitty and several in the pipeline.

"Even though I come from a filmi family, I wanted my father to do something else and used to shy away from telling others about my background. But my parents motivated me and now I feel it was the best thing to have happened in my life," says the actress who began her career with Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat.

Reinventing herself with each role, Rani has earned a reputation of one of the finest actors that has bagged her the role of an 'angel' in her next film.

Thoda Pyar Thoda Magic, it is perhaps her only release this year but Rani is too happy to play a nanny of four orphans in the movie.

"I play an angel who comes to earth to help four orphans. I don't think many actors have played such a character. It was very challenging as an actor. I got to do many he-man stunts," she says.

"I was harnessed to a rope at 60 feet so as to cycle down the rainbow to earth. It was really interesting," she adds.

But how did she prepare for the role? "It was more like creating an angel in my mind as I haven't seen a real life angel ever. We searched the Internet and books to create the character. I have done my best and given my own touch," she says.

From being someone who was scared of acting to an actor who now wishes to breathe her last acting, Rani has come a long way. However, the Bengali actress says she has not been lucky last year as her last three films, Ta Ra Rum Pum, Saawariya, Laga Chunri mein Daag – all bombed at the box office.

Nevertheless, she remains unperturbed and says she never analyses her films once they are shot. "I never analyze my films so much. I have done many run of the mill films but my audience has been with me always. I don't want to disappoint my audience and I really give my best shot," she says.

"This time for TPTM, I am again praying hard that my fans love the film," she adds.

Rani, who unanimously features in a Yash Raj film, is again gearing up for the production house in an untitled film where she plays a cricketer.

"My next film will again be with Yashji. I play a cricketer in the film that also stars Shahid Kapur. It was very hectic as I had to learn the game and practice really hard. I will be starting shooting in a couple of days, she says.

She is often hooked to mythological serials, likes to gobble ice-creams, spends time with kids and swears by her family, but when the camera starts rolling, she is a different person altogether.

"When I face the camera, I try to give everything to that shot with all the energy that I can gather at that moment. I forget everything else then," she says.

Rani, who gained up to three kgs for this film, says a lot of hue and cry has been made of 'size zero' and feels it is more about fitness than anything else.