Rani Mukerji greets British PM Keir Starmer at Yash Raj Studios, talks cinema as he experiences Bollywood up close

British PM Keir Starmer visited the YRF Studio in Mumbai on Wednesday, where he was hosted by Rani Mukerji and YRF CEO Akshay Widhani.

Published on: Oct 8, 2025, 16:04:36 IST

By Abhimanyu Mathur

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The Yash Raj Films (YRF) studio hosts several bigwigs and celebrities on a routine basis. You'll find a Khan or a Kapoor there now and again. And yet, the guest at YRF on Wednesday commanded much tighter security arrangements, and even got Rani Mukerji to receive and greet them. The United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited the YRF studio in Mumbai’s Andheri suburb, interacting with the actor and also YRF CEO Akshay Widhani, during his ongoing visit to India.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer interacts with actor Rani Mukerji during a visit to Yash Raj Films in Mumbai, India, October 8, 2025. Leon Neal/Pool via REUTERS (via REUTERS)

UK PM visits Yash Raj Films studio

The British PM, flew in from London earlier in the day, drove to the YRF Studios amid heavy police security. According to a release from the British High Commission, the PM's visit to a key Bollywood production hub aims at strengthening cultural ties and promoting collaboration between the British and Indian film industries. His visit to the facility is seen as a step toward fostering creative partnerships, including potential joint film projects and cultural exchange programmes.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer during a visit to Yash Raj films, a Bollywood studio, in Mumbai. The PM is visiting India to promote the recently signed trade deal with the south Asian nation. Picture date: Wednesday October 8, 2025. Stefan Rousseau/Pool via REUTERS (via REUTERS)

Rani Mukerji greets Keir Starmer

Rani, wife of YRF top boss Aditya Chopra, dressed in a yellow salvar suit, greeted Starmer in the premises of the studio. A picture showed them in an animated discussion about cinema inside in a wall lined with the posters of some of Yash Raj's most iconic films. The British PM also tried his hand at an editing console in one of the pictures, and was later seen watching a presentation inside the auditorium of the studio.

Yash Raj Films CEO Akshaye Widhani, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Rani Mukerji watch a screening, during Starmer's visit to Yash Raj Films, in Mumbai, India, October 8, 2025. Leon Neal/Pool via REUTERS (via REUTERS)

Later in the day, Starmer is also scheduled to participate in a football showcase event organised by the English Premier League at Cooperage football ground in South Mumbai.

One of the biggest movie studios in India, the YRF Studio is part of the Yash Raj Films, founded by the late Yash Chopra, and now run by his son, Aditya Chopra. The studio has been behind some of Bollywood's biggest hits in the last couple of decades, from Bunty Aur Babli to Pathaan.

(With PTI inputs)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Abhimanyu Mathur
Abhimanyu Mathur is Deputy Editor, Entertainment at Hindustan Times. With almost 15 years of experience in writing about everything from films and TV shows to cricket matches and elections, he inhales and exhales pop culture and news. Currently, he watches movies and TV shows and talks to celebrities for a living, while occasionally writing about them as well. A journalism graduate of Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Delhi University, Abhimanyu began his career with Hindustan Times at the age of 20, swapping classrooms for newsrooms at an early age. He began his journey in the early days of digital journalism, later switching to the madness of print journalism. Work has led him to far off places like Japan and Jordan, as well as to the interiors of Haryana and the Indo-Pak border. He dabbled in city reporting in places like Meerut, Gurgaon, and Delhi, covered the Olympics and Cricket World Cups, before finding his calling in entertainment and lifestyle during the pandemic. A Rotten Tomatoes Certified Film Critic, he is equally at home covering stories on ground as he is interviewing celebrities and studios, and sometimes prefers to shepherd teams in delivering traffic through the day. Even as his role has evolved from reporter to supervisor over the years, his first love remains writing (and of late, talking on camera). With a good understanding of cinema and its trends, and a keen eye for detail, he continues to spark conversations around showbiz for readers around the world.Read More

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