The Unforgettables: Rani Mukherjee and Anushka Sharma talk about mutual admiration, Aditya Chopra and more

It doesn't take long for Rani Mukerji and Anushka Sharma to break the ice for there's mutual admiration and a shared talent agency - Yash Raj Films (YRF). Mukerji is married to its owner and filmmaker Aditya Chopra, who in turn launched Anushka in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi. But apart from YRF, the two have supportive mothers, a sense of humour, a similar independent mindset and a self-assurance that steers well clear of arrogance.

Rani: What I would really like to know because I have heard it from my husband [Aditya Chopra] that you were not a very avid Hindi film watcher when you became an actor. You auditioned for Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008) and I remember seeing your audition and saying "My God! Look at the spark this girl has." I wouldn't say you were drop-dead gorgeous but there was something in your performance, something in your personality that was vibrant and lovely.

Anushka: Thank God you saw it too.

Rani: How come you decided to be an actor then?

Anushka: I do remember asking you this question whether you were good in studies and you said that you were and you said that you used to ?

Rani: ...love studying.

Anushka: You used to get good marks. So I think that is another thing we have in common. While growing up I never had any ambition in my mind.

Rani: Yes. But did you feel like what I always felt-I didn't know which path I would choose but I definitely knew that I wanted to be successful.

Anushka: And I cannot explain this to anybody but I just always knew that I have to be something.

Rani: Yes. You can't pin point what you wanted to be ?

Anushka: It was an instinct you know that I am going to be someone very successful but had no idea what. Once Adi asked me a very strange question: "Were you good in studies?"

Rani: (Laughs)

Anushka: Now obviously I don't get surprised when Adi asks questions because he can ask anything. So I was like, 'Yes, I used to come first or second'. He said "Hmm... that's why you are very good." And I thought what is he saying?

Rani: What is the connection?

Anushka: But today I understand what he meant. I think I was always an achiever. If I was taking part in some sport in school I would also do very well.

Rani: We only played throwball in my school.

Anushka: Just the smallest thing you know. Taking part in a collage-making competition and I wanted to be the best. So I think that is something that was driving me. I also have a mother who is a huge motivator and I think she was the one who sent my photographs to people for the first time.

Rani: My mom and your mom should meet each other.

Anushka: I didn't realise for a very long time how I got into this. Who put this seed in my head? Because I thought I was going to be a model. I think that also came from my mother somewhere.

Rani: I'll tell you something very funny. My maternal grandmother is a go-getter. My mother started singing from the age of 13 with Mohammad Rafi on stage. All my mother's siblings have done something in the arts field you know-somebody is with Rabindranath Tagore's institution, my youngest masi [aunt] is an actress in Kolkata. So the day I was born, my nani started planning that she would make me an actor. This I didn't know till I became an actor. She would tell my mother: "Krishna, your daughter is good-looking, we should make her an actress." It's so funny that our strength, our motivations always come from our mother's side. I started during a time when things were changing, stars descended from the galaxy and became like those plastic glow stars that you put up in the ceiling of children's bedrooms. Film stars have become more accessible. They are no longer thought of as celestial beings. They are thought of as regular average, normal people.

Anuskha: So catching you outside your house when you have just got out of your workout and someone's taking your photograph.

Rani: It wasn't like that earlier. Today I think the fans who used to write us letters of love have become more like witness of hate letters now. Actors are getting trolled on social media. Thank God I am not there. Also because I am married to a very private person?

Anushka: Who might be a myth.

Rani: Yes, he might be a myth.

Anushka: Your daughter is the only reason people will believe that he exists.

Rani: (Laughs) He is not Mr India. So I consciously chose not to be on social media because when you are on social media then you can't choose that there is only one part that you would like to give to you fans. Because you are answerable to all those people who are following you, reading your tweets or wanting to see more of your personal self on that platform. Today, I am married, I have a daughter and I can't force my husband to be suddenly media savvy and ask is it alright if I post your picture with mine.

I don't mind giving my pictures 24X7 because I am in this field and I am used to it. But I can't suddenly take responsibility for my husband's or Adira's picture being published. I can't do that because her father also takes certain decisions for her. But I can understand the pressure that comes with being an actor today because you are constantly judged. You can't imagine anybody wearing slippers and boarding a flight now. There are stylists who actually dress you up for the airport and I find that hilarious.

Anushka: But you know how I became relaxed with all of this? It is when I decided that I am not going to give a damn about this.

Rani: Does your stylist tell you what bag to carry at the airport?

Anushka: No, but there are people who make fun of me because I am repeating my bags or I am repeating my shoes and I genuinely don't care.

Rani: No I want to understand. How are we supposed to house all these shoes and bags? Our homes in Mumbai are small. We can wear them but where do we keep them?

Anushka: I made my life very simple. I wear black.

Rani:You wear black. (Laughs)

Rani: No but then I always think what's the point? When you go through airport security, you have to take off your belt and boots anyway. You can't keep them on.

Anushka: And I am so scared of authority that I cannot do all that.

Rani: I have heard of actors going into depression because of social media. Because they actually take the things written about them so seriously that they start believing it.

Anushka: That can happen. When I started reading these negative things about myself, it took me a while to understand what that meant.

Rani: But see that's why at my time it was so wonderful because a person would not waste his postal stamp and his letter to write me something bad na?