Rani was introduced into The Sarah Jane Adventures as a replacement for departing character Maria Jackson, played by Yasmin Paige.

Paige left the series as a regular due to her wanting to complete her GCSEs, thus, Maria moved to America because her father had been offered a job there.

[1] Her father is the new headteacher of the school where she, Luke and his best friend Clyde Langer (Daniel Anthony) are pupils; her mother owns the Bloomin' Lovely florist.

[9] Coincidentally, she is continually addressed as Lady Rani in the subsequent serial, when she is transported to the court of Queen Jane and mistaken for a newly summoned lady-in-waiting.

Sarah Jane discovers that, in violation of her rules, Rani has shared her adventures in letters to her former school friend Samuel; the events of the episode cause two timelines to occur, one where in 2059, Rani has acquired Sarah Jane's home at 13 Bannerman Road and become miserable and alone, and another where she will have a son and grandchildren and still friends with Luke and even her predecessor, Maria, living with her family at the former Smith home.

The first boxset, Beyond Bannerman Road, was released in April 2023 and features Daniel Anthony and Mina Anwar returning as Clyde Langer and Rani's mother Gita Chandra, respectively.

[1] Reviewing the second series of The Sarah Jane Adventures for Digital Spy, Ben Rawson-Jones writes that: "As Rani, Anjli Mohindra was fine with dialogue, but painfully self-conscious on a physical acting level when compared to the effortless ease with which Daniel Anthony and Tommy Knight portray Clyde and Luke.

Comparisons between Rani and Sarah Jane's former companion Maria are almost inevitable, and bound to be divisive, but – based on this episode, at least – Mohindra gives as good as she takes, and her character manages to be interesting and endearing without treading on Miss Jackson's toes.