And it's coronation time, folks. Confident and charismatic like never before, Rani rocked the screens as she, along with Saif Ali Khan, came of age, inspired by When Harry Met Sally in Hum Tum.

Their reel-life compatibility worked like a charm for the romance which spans through Amsterdam-New York-France and India. What's more the Yash Raj flick made big bucks at the BO.

The same can be said about the Yash Chopra helmed Veer-Zaara. Although she played neither Veer nor Zaara, Rani stole the show in this old-fashioned Indo-Pak love story, slipping into the gritty skin of an uncompromising Pakistani lawyer with her crisp dialogues and kohl-eyed determination.

Ditto for Mani Ratnam's Yuva, wherein the actress topped the compliment count with her fiery realism, touching vulnerability and simmering sensuality as the hopelessly optimistic, Bangla-spewing Sasha.

The Queen of Hearts continued to rule with her delectable over-the-top con woman act in Yashraj's Bunty Aur Babli. Remember how her collared short kurtas, designed by Aki Narula, caught on big time with the fashion-focused?

And while Amol Palekar's Paheli wasn't a box-office draw, it presented Rani like never before. Ethereal, radiant and breathtaking, the camera captured Rani's luminous and regal aura to perfection. Not even SRK's massive turban could divert our attention.

It was, however, Black, a film she almost didn't take up, that caught everyone's attention. Her detailed, devoted and heart-felt portrayal of a blind, deaf and mute girl in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Black won every accolade possible. And while the media was divided in its opinion about the film itself, everyone agreed it was a career-best effort from Rani.

Just when things looked impossibly good for the actress, rumours of an impending marriage with the Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge director popped up once again.

Viewers, however, are least influenced by the real-life drama of stars, when it comes to thumbing down a movie. Although that's exactly the fate Mangal Pandey: The Rising met, which starred Rani as the proverbial prostitute with a golden-heart.

Even if Karan Johar's much-hyped Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna made its money, it did nothing for the actress in a soulless, conflicting part looking her dullest ever.

What followed next was a series of appearances depicting her wallow in sorrow or self-pity, thanks to tedious melodramas like Baabul, Ta Ra Rum Pum, Saawariya and Laaga Chunari Mein Daag bombing one by one at the box-office.

Famously fickle, the average viewers, a popular theory goes, had a hard time taking in this overdose of melancholy and rona dhona.

A Rani Mukerji starrer didn't spell excitement anymore. The audience diverted their attention to watch the light-hearted vibrancy of rising stars like Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone while others like Kareena Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra hit the treadmill to grab attention in bikini numbers.

Understandably, no one turned up to see Rani's lackluster Mary Poppins in yet another boring Yashraj caper, Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic.