Birthday special: Madhuri turns 47

She has won millions of hearts over a career spanning nearly three decades. Here’s a look at the life and times of the Madhubala of the 1990s.

KARACHI: Few can dazzle the screen with a smile as bewitching, movement as lithe and charisma as incontestable as the gorgeous Madhuri. From the naive newly married woman in Abodh to the furious feminist of Gulaab Gang, the actror steadily graduated from a promising newcomer to an iconic figure in her three-decade-long career.

The spell her stunning face, poised dance and persuasive histrionics cast on Bollywood and its followers is far from broken. The Bollywood’s original Dhak-Dhak girl has acted in many hit films like Dil, Saajan, Beta, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, Raja and Dil Tou Pagal Hai and Devdasamong others.  In 2008, Madhuri was awarded the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian award by the Government of India. She has also won six Filmfare awards and has several other prestigious awards to her credit. In 2002, she took a sabbatical from films to raise her children and made a comeback with the musical Aaja Nachle in 2007. Dixit also judged two seasons of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. Madhuri again returned recently with Dedh Ishqiya and Gulaab Gang, playing unconventional roles. She managed to make a successful comeback with these two projects and is now choosy about the roles she picks.

Personal life

Born on May 15, 1967, Madhuri Dixit-Nene took Bollywood by storm in the 1990s. The viewers were smitten by her elegance, her unparalleled dancing skills and most of all, her beauty.  Born to Shankar Dixit and Snehlata Dixit, Madhuri is the youngest of four siblings. She rocked the nation with dance numbers like Choli ke peechhe and Channe ke khet meinand broke a million hearts with her decision to marry Sriram Madav Nene, a UCLA-trained cardiovascular surgeon who practices in Denver. The couple has two sons, Arin and Raayan. After marriage, Dixit moved to Denver and lived there for almost a decade. However, she couldn’t keep away from the glamorous world of Bollywood and shifted back to Mumbai with her family in 2011.

Controversies

Madhuri Dixit is one of the most loved actors in Bollywood, but she has had her set of controversies too. From a controversial relationship to a much debated professional life, Madhuri’s stint in Bollywood is nothing short of a filmy drama. Madhuri romanced Sanjay Dutt in several hit films like Khalnayak and Saajan, which gave impetus to their off-screen love life, despite Dutt being married to Richa Chada.  Madhuri was also linked with Anil Kapoor, as the duo churned out hit films like Tezaab, Ram Lakhan and Beta among others.

While she was still trying to make a mark in the industry, Madhuri made a bold move. She romanced an actor 20 years older than her, Vinod Khanna in Dayavan and shot an intimate scene with him which created quite a stir. Later, when the actor was on top of her game, she said that she regretted that move and should have refused to do the scene.

Being at the top comes at a cost and Madhuri paid the cost of making rivals in Bollywood. While Sridevi had already been a reigning queen during the 1980s, Madhuri made an impressive mark on filmmakers with her film Tezaab. Soon the two were said to be competing with for films. It was an allegedly unspoken rivalry as the two tried to outdo each other with every film they did. With age not on her side, Sridevi faded from the Bollywood scenario, while Madhuri went on to give impressive hits at the box office. Madhuri and Juhi Chawla were also rivals at the time when they ruled the box office. The actor was also criticised for demanding ridiculously high salaries.

Five lesser-known facts

Madhuri wanted to become a Microbiologist when she was young.

According to some gossip that went around, during the Kargil war, Pakistani army taunted, “We will leave Kashmir if Indians give us Madhuri Dixit.” As a reply to this, the Indian army shot the person who said this and replied, “From Madhuri, with love!”

Madhuri Dixit is said to be the only female actor to have been nominated 13 times for the Filmfare Best Actress Award.

In March 2013, Madhuri, backed by her husband Shriram Nene, opened an online dance academy, Dance With Madhuri

Madhuri had worn a 30kg heavy outfit in the song Kahe Chedd Chedd Mohe in Devdas