Rani Mukherjee, who was conspicuous by her absence at the Abhiash wedding, is back in Mumbai and shooting at Film City for Pradeep Sarkar’s Laaga Chunri Mei Daag. Naturally, she does not want to discuss why she was not invited to the wedding. “I’d rather not go in there,” she said reluctantly. But she has always been that way. “If I genuinely don’t have anything worthwhile to say, why be in the news just for the heck,” she asked.

Aishwarya’s wedding, and news that her other contemporary Preity Zinta may soon be tying the knot, has not excited Rani enough to consider marriage herself. “The thought of settling down has not crossed my mind simply because I haven’t met the right person till now. Marriage and commitment come only when you know you have met the right person and you are ready for it. As soon as I find Mr Right, I will also think of settling down,” said the Bong beauty.

So BT asked Rani for her take on her onceupon-a-time friends and colleagues, Abhishek, Aishwarya and Preity Zinta. She said, “I’ve always believed Abhishek and I make a good pair onscreen. Our first film together, Bas Itna Sa Khwab Hai, didn’t work well; so people assumed we wouldn’t click together. Mani Ratnam had the vision to recast us and, today, everyone loves our screen pairing. What I like about Abhishek is the fact that he’s willing to grow as an actor. He doesn’t limit himself, and it shows with the kind of movies he chooses to do. Another quality I appreciate in him is that he’s not proud or arrogant and he exhibits no starry airs. He’s like anybody else around. That’s what makes him so special.”

She thinks that Preity and she have always had a good working relationship. “Off-screen, we were never friends. As co-actors we vibed well and it showed in our films together, hence the media assumed we were thick pals. I think ‘friend’ is a very important word in one’s life and it has a very strong meaning. We should understand that. But the only common thing between Preity and me are our movies,” she explained.

And as for Ash, “There was never really a problem between her Ash and me,” said Rani. “I would say when two people get busy with their work and lives, things change and they drift apart. It doesn’t mean that there is a problem. It’s just that everyone has moved on in life, that’s the thing that has changed between Ash and me.”