Madhuri Dixit Heart of Bollywood

Biography

Madhuri Dixit Nene was born as ?Madhuri Shankar Dixit? on 15th May 1967, in Mumbai, Maharashtra. She is one of the four children of Shankar Dixit and Snehlata Dixit, of a Marathi Chitpavan Brahmin family. After completing her graduation, Madhuri attended Parle College and completed her Bachelors Degree in Microbiology. While studying, she also trained as a Kathak dancer. Though she wanted to be a micro-biologist, life took a different turn and she ended up as one of the most successful actresses in Bollywood.

Madhuri Dixit married Dr Sriram Madhav Nene, an Indian doctor who resides in USA, in the year 1999. Sriram is an UCLA-trained cardiovascular surgeon who practices in Denver and belongs to a Marathi Konkanastha Brahmin family. The couple has two sons Arin (born March 2003) and Ryan (born March 2005). Presently, Madhuri resides in Denver (Colorado, USA), along with her husband and kids.

Madhuri Dixit started her career in 1984, with the film ?Abodh?, offered to her by Rajshri Productions. The film failed to create any ripples at the box office and was forgotten soon. Thereafter, she was seen in a number of unnoticeable films, like Awara Baap and Swati. It was only in 1986 that she was discovered by Subhash Ghai, who gave her a small dance sequence in ?Karma'. Though the dance sequence was edited out in the final cut, Ghai promised to give Madhuri better roles in the future.

He also kept a condition, that Madhuri will stop doing tiny roles in insignificant films. She agreed and Ghai ended up giving Madhuri, first, ?Uttar Dakshin', and then, a proper launch in ?Ram Lakhan' (1988). However, before Ram Lakhan could make it to the box office, Madhuri?s ?Tezaab? hit the theaters. Her dance sequence in the film, ?Ek, do, teen? took the nation by storm and established Madhuri in the top league of actresses. ?Tezaab? went on to complete a golden jubilee and was one of the biggest hits of the year.

Madhuri?s superb performance in ?Tezaab? and ?Ram Lakhan? was followed by her excellent act in ?Dil? (1990). The film not only got her the first Filmfare Award of her career, for Best Actress?, but also established a rapport with Indra Kumar. In the coming years, she starred in two hit films by Kumar, ?Beta? (1991) and ?Raja? (1995). The first half of 1990s saw Madhuri delivering a hit almost every year. This included films like Saajan (1991), Beta (1992), Khalnayak (1993), Hum Aapke Hain Koun (1994) and Raja (1995).

In 1996, she was seen in ?Prem Granth?, a film that bombed at the box office, but managed to win her critical acclaim. She starred in a number of films the same year, but none of them were successful. Just when critics were planning to write her off, ?Dil To Pagal Hai? (1997) happened. The film was not only a blockbuster, but also got her Filmfare Award for ?Best Actress?. The same year, she was also seen in Prakash Jha's 'Mrityudand', a film that established her as a serious actor and won her Best Actress awards at the Star Screen Awards & Sansui Awards.

The next major film for Madhuri Dixit came in 2000, Pukar, which also bagged her IIFA Best Actress Award. The same year, she was seen in Gaja Gamini (2000), made by M.F. Hussain, who considers Madhuri as his muse and the embodiment of womanhood. The film saw her representing the various forms and manifestations of womanhood. Though it was not a commercial success, the film did get her critical acclaim. The year 2002 saw Madhuri starring in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's ?Devdas?.

The film was also featured at the Cannes Film Festival and won Madhuri Filmfare Award as well as Star Screen Best Award, for Supporting Actress. Thereafter, she took a brief sabbatical from movies, to concentrate on her family. She was seen on-screen in 2006, after a gap of four years, performing on the songs of Devdas, for Filmfare Awards. The sabbatical came to an end in 2007, when her film ?Aaja Nachle? was released. Though it did not turn a box office hit, the film definitely got Madhuri rave reviews.