Bollywood star Rani Mukerji has been awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters by Australia’s La Trobe University for three decades of work in Indian cinema and her contributions off screen, the university said.
She is the second Indian film figure to receive the distinction, after superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s honor in 2019.
“Receiving this honorary doctorate from La Trobe University is one of the most humbling moments of my life,” Mukerji said. “For someone who has always believed that films can change hearts before they change minds, this recognition means more than I can possibly express.”
Khan’s doctorate marked his charitable work and standing in Indian film, and came with a Ph.D. scholarship set up in his name at the university. Mukerji’s own citation draws on similar ground: her screen career and the causes she has backed alongside it.
Mukerji said her film choices have always come down to what moved her personally first – stories that needed telling, that could inspire and empower. Every artist, she said, carries a responsibility beyond performance. “We quietly become ambassadors of our culture,” she said.
