Madhuri Dixit

Biography

Madhuri Dixit (May 15, 1967) donned the mantle of Bollywood’s queen bee during 90s decade and her dominance in the industry is reflected in the fact that she won the ‘Best Actress’ awards in 1990 (Dil), 1992 (Beta), 1994 (Hum Aapke Hai Kaun) and 1997 (Dil To Pagal Hai).

Winning Four times in seven years is a phenomenal record for any actress and more so in India because in the 90s actresses were regarded only slightly above set embellishments and in such adverse circumstances for any ‘leading lady’ to stamp her authority was truly a remarkable feat.

Born to Shankar and Snehlata Dixit in Mumbai, Madhuri initially harboured hopes to be a micro-biologist and even attended Parle College in her native city to fulfil her dreams. But her worth in ‘finer arts’ was there since early days as she was an accomplished Kathak dancer and destiny somehow lead her to make her celluloid debut in ‘Abodh’ (1984) but became darling of the Indian audiences with N Chandra’s ‘Teazaab’ (1988). A song picturised on her, ‘Ek do teen’ almost gained a kind of cult reputation and she further cemented her place amongst the Indian cinegoers with good performances in ‘Ram Lakhan’, ‘Dil’, ‘Saajan’, ‘Beta’ and some other major hits.

Madhuri virtually ruled the decade of 90s, as mentioned above, and one of the most appreciated part of her on screen repertoire was her dancing skills.

Her dance sequence in the many songs, such as, Ek Do Teen (Tezaab), Bada Dukh Dina (Ram Lakhan), Dhak Dhak (Beta), Chane Ke Kheth Mein (Anjaam), Choli Ke Peechche (Khalnayak), Akhiyan Milau (Raja), Piya Ghar Aya (Yaarana), Key Sera (Pukar), Mardala (Devdas) etc., received critical acclaim.

But just when she was on the top of her game she broke a million hearts by getting married to an Indian-American, UCLA trained cardiovascular surgeon, Dr. Sriram Madhav Nene, in 1999.

As the norm is in Bollywood, after marriage Madhuri somewhat faded away from the mainstream and her fans had almost forgotten her when she made a grand comeback with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Devdas’. Playing the role of a prostitute-with-a-heart-of-gold who is in love with a man hell bent on self destruction, Madhuri showcased her full range of histrionics and also won an award for the ‘Best Supporting Actress’. The film also attracted worldwide attention and was featured at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.

Madhuri has two sons, Arin (born in March 2003) and Ryan (born on March 8, 2005) and now lives with her husband Dr. Nene and her two children in Denver, Colorado, USA. She generally stays away from cinema but hasn’t ruled out another comeback.