JOIN USActress Madhuri Dixit, who will be seen in two upcoming Hindi films, is happy to work with a new crop of talented actors and says she has been working in Bollywood as per her own plan.
Madhuri is set to stage a comeback in Bollywood after a gap of six years with two projects — Vishal Bharadwaj’s home production Dedh Ishqiya and Anubhav Sinha-produced Gulab Gang. She has also done an item song in Karan Johar’s home production Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. The item song Ghagra features her and new-age actor Ranbir Kapoor.
“I don’t why people call it a comeback. It is a mystery to me. Everyone works according to their plan. The vibe from industry people is positive. People love me and are waiting to see Gulab Gang and Dedh Ishqiya,” Madhuri said.
After her marriage in 1999 to a US-based surgeon, she did Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas in 2002. She then took a break and staged a comeback with Aditya Chopra’s home production Aaja Nachle in 2007.
Despite not being on the silver screen for a while, the 46-year-old filmstar was very much present on small screen. In 2011, she shifted base to Mumbai along with her family. Gulab Gang, directed by newcomer Soumik Sen, also stars Juhi Chawla, Mahie Gill, Shilpa Shukla and others.
“I have done everything in this film –– fight scene, dancing and singing. It is an entertaining film. We are saying quite a few things through this film but in an entertaining way. It is not a heavy film which delivers sermons. It was good working with a new crop of actors. They were full of energy, have ideas and are confident. It was wonderful working with talented actors,” she said.
In the late 1980s and early 90s, Madhuri and Juhi Chawla were considered on-screen competitors. But now, they are working together on Gulab Gang, loosely based on a group of women fighting against social injustice.
“I have worked with Juhi for the first time (in this film) and she is a wonderful co-star. We have some nice interesting scenes together,” Madhuri said. For Gulab Gang, Madhuri did sing a few lines with her mother Snehlata. “They wanted a voice for a particular sequence, not a proper song. With a couple of instruments playing in the background, they wanted the actress (Madhuri) to break into a song. They wanted to make it realistic, so when the director asked me, I thought about it and agreed.”
Madhuri said the artistic talent in her is because of her mother, who has interest in music.
“My mother couldn’t learn dance but made her daughters learn it. We got those things from her. I took her aside and asked her to sing one line for me (for Gulab Gang song). She sang and I told her ‘mom you have made your debut at 80’,” she said.