THE CONSTANT CHARM OF MADHURI DIXIT
A dangerous diva in Dedhishqiya. A feisty crusader in Gulaab Gang. The 90s superstar is having the time of her life.
Meeting Madhuri Dixit-Nene can be a life-altering experience. Ask Gulaab Gang director Soumik Sen, who likens his first meeting with the superstar to a scene from the classic Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962) in which Guru Dutt first sees Chhoti Bahu. “While I was narrating the script, I first saw her feet, then her hands and then her face,” says Sen. “I kept thinking why is there so much light in the room?”
Obviously, there wasn’t. But that’s the kind of effect that Madhuri has on her legion of fans. Seated in a room at the Yash Raj Studios in Mumbai after wrapping up a performance for an award show, she brightens up the room with her effulgent smile. In her thirtieth year in the film industry—Madhuri made her debut in Abodh in 1984—she hasn’t lost her grip on the audience. So much so, as the end credits of Dedh Ishqiya rolled, audiences remained in their seats because Madhuri was dancing to ‘Hamari Atariya’—no one, ever, leaves the theatre when she is dancing. As the elegant and mysterious Begum Para, Madhuri dazzled with her expressive eyes and effortless moves. The audience, denied of her presence for six years since Aaja Nachle (2007), couldn’t get enough.
Age is just a number for 46-year-old Madhuri, who ruled the industry in the late 1980s and 1990s and outshone her male counterparts in hits such as Dil (1990), Beta (1992), Khal Nayak (1993) and Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994). Such was her reign that a generation of twentysomething and thirty-something women has grown up imitating her dance moves in front of the mirror. ‘Who is the next Madhuri?’ is a question that frequently pops up when discussing the future of Bollywood heroines. The search is still on. As Sen says, “There is no one like Madhuri.”
In her second innings as an actress, Madhuri wants to prove that she can still draw audiences to the theatres. “Just because you are above 40 doesn’t mean your desirability ends,” says Madhuri. “Just because you are a mom and a wife doesn’t mean you have to play only those roles on screen. My aim is to play different characters.”
And she seems determined to do just that. If she was the epitome of lyrical grace in Dedh Ishiqya, she is the exact opposite in Gulaab Gang, releasing on March 7—an aggressive crusader who kicks and punches men. For the part of a “semi super-heroine,” Sen says, “I couldn’t think of anybody else”. For her part, Madhuri was wellequipped for the physically demanding role of a gang leader who fights for social justice in her village. She credits lessons in taekwondo in Denver and her background in dancing, for the “strength and vitality” required to perform the stunts. “For me, the fight moves were like dance moves,” she says. “There is a rhythm to it. Once you get the rhythm right, everything falls into place.”
Everything has indeed fallen into place for Madhuri since her return from the United States, where she lived with husband, Dr Shriram Nene, and two sons, Raayan and Arin, for seven years. Her calendar is packed. Her commitments include being a judge on the dance show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, endorsing six brands, shooting tutorial videos for the online dance academy Dance with Madhuri, managing her production house RNM Moving Pictures with her husband, taking care of her mother Snehlata and helping her children adjust to life in India. “Initially, the kids did complain, ‘Oh, it is so dirty outside’ and ‘Why are there people begging on the streets?’” she says. “But now they have so many friends who can pop in every time and whose homes they can go to. Also, half my battle was won because they love their school.”
Madhuri believes that she was “destined” to come back home. “I felt it was the right time. If my children were any older, perhaps they wouldn’t want to make the move,” she says. It helped that her husband is “a global citizen, who can live anywhere on the planet”. Nene has put his medical career on a hold to focus on the production house.
Circumstances were also ideal for her comeback in Bollywood. Older actresses are no longer sidelined. Sridevi made a comeback with English Vinglish and in Gulaab Gang, Madhuri shares the spotlight with Juhi Chawla. She is glad to see heroine-oriented films that go beyond depicting women as “avengers”, “victims” or “pretty girls”. “Today, a woman could be ambitious but she doesn’t have to explain why she is so,” she says.
Even the industry works differently now, says Madhuri. With talent management agencies, well-organised production houses and the rise of multiplexes, Bollywood runs like a well-oiled business machine. Madhuri has adapted to the change. She parted ways with Rikku Rakeshnath, her secretary of 27 years, to be represented by Matrix, the agency which manages Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan. “The scripts now are bound and ready,” she says. “Earlier, we would be ready on the sets but the dialogue writer would still be scribbling in the corner somewhere and we’d be like, ‘ Bhai, dialogue jaldi do.’ An actor’s job is so much easier now.”
Apart from being an actress, Madhuri is also thrilled about her other roles: Daughter, wife, mother and businesswoman. Her partner-in-crime, her husband, has made life easier. “He is very calm,” she says. “But he is quick with decisions. I’m a little indecisive.” She makes it a point to spend quality time with her children.“There’s a child within me,” she says. “Everything is fascinating. The hunger to learn, do better and more creative things never goes.”
And just like her, the audience can never grow weary of watching her.
JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE A MOM AND A WIFE DOESN’T MEAN YOU HAVE TO PLAY ONLY THOSE ROLES ON SCREEN.