That year , Mukerji received a second Best Actress nomination at Filmfare for her work opposite Abhishek Bachchan in '' Bunty Aur Babli '' , a comedy film which marked her fifth collaboration with Yash Raj Films . She played the title character of Vimmi " Babli " Saluja , a con woman . The film was the second highest-grossing film of 2005 and Mukerji 's third major success in two consecutive years . Film critic Namrata Joshi wrote that " Rani plays to the gallery with ease " and Taran Adarsh wrote that she " sinks her teeth into the role and comes out with flying colours " . She followed it with Amol Palekar 's fantasy film '' Paheli '' , reuniting her with Shah Rukh Khan . The film was a box office flop in India but was given a strong international release ; it was screened at the Sundance Film Festival and was India 's submission for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 79th Academy Awards . Raja Sen of Rediff.com was impressed by the film as well as Mukerji 's performance which he called " another perfectly played part " . Mukerji 's fourth and final release of the year was the highly anticipated period film '' Mangal Pandey : The Rising '' . Director Ketan Mehta initially approached her for a cameo appearance , which was developed into an " important part " after she gave her consent to star in the film . Her role was that of Heera , a prostitute who forms the love interest of the title character ( played by Aamir Khan ) . Derek Elley of '' Variety '' mentioned that Mukerji made " the most of her feisty nautch-girl , " despite having " a small role for a star of her caliber . " Mukerji turned down an offer from Mira Nair to star in the Hollywood film '' The Namesake '' , choosing instead to collaborate once again with her friend Karan Johar in '' Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna '' ( 2006 ) , an urban drama dealing with infidelity and dysfunctional relationships . The high-profile production featured an ensemble cast of Amitabh Bachchan , Shah Rukh Khan , Abhishek Bachchan , Preity Zinta and Kirron Kher , and told the story of two unhappily married couples in New York which results in an extra-marital affair . Mukerji played Maya Talwar , a woman layered with self-doubt and question about the relationship between her husband ( played by Abhishek Bachchan ) and herself . '' Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna '' was a popular release , emerging as a major economic success with gross earnings of over . Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN wrote , " Rani looks a million bucks and she dives under the skin of her character to make that part one that we will remember for a long time " . The role won Mukerji a third consecutive IIFA Best Actress Award and among other nods , earned her a sixth Best Actress nomination at Filmfare . The poorly received melodrama '' Baabul '' was her final appearance that year
79th Academy Awards
79th Academy Awards
Rani Mukerji