Career..............................

She began her film career with the Bengali film Biyer Phool. Her first Hindi film was Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat (1996), which did not do well at the box office. However, her next two releases - Ghulam and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) - were hits.^[2] For the latter she received her first Filmfare Award in the Best Supporting Actress^[3] category.

Mukherjee was in great demand after sudden stardom and signed contracts to work in many promising projects. Unfortunately, most of the movies didn't work to her advantage. ^[4] In 2002, she starred in Saathiya which was critically and commercially successful.^[5]

In 2003, she starred in Chalte Chalte opposite Shah Rukh Khan; the film was a semi-hit and people took her performance a lot more seriously. Moving on, 2004 was the most significant year in her career. Her performances in Yuva and the commercially successful Hum Tum earned her even more awards - the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for the former, and the Filmfare Best Actress Award^[6] Her performance as a Pakistani lawyer in Veer-Zaara was also acclaimed and earned her many award nominations. for the latter.

In 2005, Mukherjee starred in four high-profile films. Bunty Aur Babli and The Rising were among the biggest grossers of the year.^[7]Black. These successes established Mukherjee as one of the industry's most bankable stars.^[8] She received critical acclaim for every film, especially her performance in

Mukherjee had two releases in 2006: Karan Johar's Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, which was one of the most successful movies of the year ^[9]B.R. Chopra's Baabul, which performed poorly at the box office, ^[10] despite receiving mixed reviews from critics.^[11] and

The actress has been an active stage performer and participated in numerous world tours. Temptations 2004 was her most successful concert, in which she performed alongside Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta, Arjun Rampal and Priyanka Chopra.^[12] She also appeared along with various other Bollywood actors at the Closing Ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, as part of a performance showcasing Indian culture, on behalf of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, to be held in Delhi.^[13] For her one-and-a-half-minute dance act alongside Saif Ali Khan, she was reportedly paid 1.5 crore rupees, the equivalent of about 300,000 U.S. dollars.^{[citation needed]}