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HER FACE SPEAKS a thousand words. After Madhubala, she's the most beautiful actress to have adorned the silver screen. Her mystique is so mesmerizing that even the most stone-hearted cannot help falling in love with her. Her list of ardent admirers include the Sultan of Brunei, Atal Behari Vajpayee, Sachin Tendulkar, Sabeer Bhatia and of course, M.F. Hussain. Was the Madhuri magic always so intriguing? Not really, considering this middle-class Maharashtrian girl from Mumbai's distant suburbs had very few takers when she first appeared on screen in 'Abodh' (1984). The only two insignificant movies she did after that were 'Swati' and 'Awaara Baap'. It was only when Subhash Ghai decided to take control of her career that Madhuri's journey towards stardom began. Incidentally, Ghai relaunched her in 'Uttar Dakshin', a film presented by him but directed by an unknown, Prabhat Khanna. Her co-stars in the movie were Jackie Shroff and Rajnikant but the film failed to arouse any audience interest. Ghai then signed her for his next venture 'Ram Lakhan'. But even before that film could release, Madhuri Dixit made an unprecedented impact with her next release, the N. Chandra-directed 'Tezaab' (1988). That was the beginning of a great success story. Suddenly , Madhuri was the hottest girl in town.
Her acting abilities were beyond compare, her sex appeal was overwhelming, her screen presence was prodigious. The Madhuri mania was so compelling that even serious national magazines crowned her the film industry's new reign-woman. Madhuri never let the audience down after that. Even in films which were predominantly hero-oriented — 'Ram Lakhan', 'Parinda', 'Tridev' and 'Prem Pratigya' she stood out with her spirited portrayals. The film that finally stamped her as Queen of the Dolls was 'Dil' with Aamir Khan, which was the biggest hit of 1990. Until then, Sridevi was the undisputed Numero Uno among heroines but after 'Dil', the industry actually began to look at Madhuri with a lot more seriousness.Madhuri is one actress who has had the privilege of working with some of the finest makers of our times. And that was one area where she scored over Sri. Just look at the quality of filmmakers she's worked with — Subhash Ghai, N. Chandra, Feroz Khan, Bapu, Vinod Chopra, Rajiv Rai, Indra Kumar, Mukul Anand, Rahul Rawail, Rakesh Roshan, Sudhir Mishra, David Dhawan, Sooraj Barjatya, Prakash Jha, Yash Chopra and Rajkumar Santoshi. Most makers believe that Madhuri is the most complete actress ever. Whether it's drama, comedy, song and dances, she excels in everything she attempts. Madhuri's strongest characteristic was her consistency in giving hits all along. Right from 1988 ('Tezaab') to 1995, which one may call her most successful phase, Madhuri delivered a blockbuster every single year. 'Ram Lakhan' (1989), Dil' (1990), 'Thanedaar' (1991), 'Saajan' and 'Beta' (1992), 'Khalnayak' (1993), 'HumAapkeHainKaun' (1994) and 'Raja' (1995).
Her crowning glory was 'Dil To Pagal Hain' in 1997, just when people were all set to write her off. During every phase of her career, Madhuri has attempted to do a different kind of cinema, thereby initiating a new medium. One of her first films was the Raghuvir Kul-directed 'Mohre', which also starred Nana Patekar. Then she tried out 'Prem Pratigya' in a totally deglamorized role. The one that followed was 'Prahaar', wherein she gave an inspired performance sans make-up. She also did 'Dharavi' with Sudhir Mishra and 'Mityudand' with Prakash Jha (for which she even won the Best Actress award). Her most awaited experiment so far, 'Gajagamini', directed by M.F. Hussain is yet to be released. In year 2000, Madhuri broke many hearts by marrying the man of her choice, Shriram Nene, an Indian doctor settled in the United States. She says that she will continue acting in movies and is looking forward to shooting for Sanjay Leela Bansali's 'Devdas' with Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai. But will the audience accept a married Madhuri? Well, if the response to her latest release 'Pukar' is anything to go by, Madhuri need not worry. After all, a legend is forever. |
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