India, Jan. 29 -- The Mardaani movie franchise has occupied an intriguing middle ground. The first and second movie were not exactly bad thrillers. But neither they were cult masterpieces. They were well-done, occasionally successful genre works. They attracted a disproportionate amount of attention due to their central character. Let's look at the evolution of the character of Rani Mukerji character in Mardaani 1 and 2 before watching Mardaani 3.

There was no attempt to make Shivani Shivaji Roy (Rani Mukerji) universally likeable and no romance subplot to soften the story. Even though the screenplay didn't often earn it, the film's refusal to dress up its police officer in well-known cliches gave it a gravity. And despite its inconsiste...