Rani Mukerji awarded Honorary Doctor of Letters at IFFM 2026
- By Sarah Brohi -
- Aug 15, 2026
Rani Mukerji received an Honorary Doctor of Letters from Australia’s La Trobe University.
According to the statement from La Trobe University, the Bollywood actress Rani Mukerji has recently been awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters by Australia’s La Trobe University for three decades of work in Indian cinema and her off-screen contributions. Her work was separately honored with a special citation for acting excellence by the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM), which cited her three decades of memorable roles and the international reach of her work.
She is the second Indian film figure to receive the distinction, after superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s honor in 2019.
Mukerji further mentioned, “Receiving this honorary doctorate from La Trobe University is one of the most humbling moments of my life. For someone who has always believed that films can change hearts before they change minds, this recognition means more than I can 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.
On the impact of her work, she said, “If my films have helped even one person understand India and its women a little better… If they have encouraged dialogue… If they have created empathy… Then I feel I have fulfilled a responsibility far greater than simply being an actor.”
Mukerji was separately honored with a special citation for acting excellence by the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM), which cited her three decades of memorable roles and the international reach of her work. This year’s IFFM, running Aug. 13-23, gathers Indian filmmakers and films from around the country as part of its wider program.
Her filmography includes “Black,” “Hum Tum,” “Yuva,” “Bunty Aur Babli,” “No One Killed Jessica,” “Hichki,” the “Mardaani” franchise and “Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway.”
On the IFFM honor, Mukerji said, “When I entered the Indian film industry as a young girl, I never imagined that one day my films and the characters that I have been fortunate enough to play would take me across oceans and that people in a beautiful country like Australia would embrace me with so much warmth.
Entertaining people across the world with my cinema is the greatest gift this profession has given me. Australia has always welcomed me & Indian cinema with open arms. It has become a place where cultures meet through storytelling, where films remind us that emotions don’t need passports and where love, laughter and hope speak a language we all understand.”
Mukerji said that the real story of a performance begins only once it reaches an audience, not when it’s shot in front of a camera. “To know that for three decades my films, my characters and my voice have traveled so far from home and still found a place in your lives is incredibly humbling,” she said. “I’ve been fortunate to play women who laughed loudly, loved deeply, fought fearlessly and never stopped believing in themselves. In many ways, every character has changed me a little. They’ve made me a better actor, but more importantly, they’ve made me a better human being.”