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'I feel as if I had never gone away'
Madhuri Dixit speaks to BT about work and how her kids react to their mother's glam role
GAYATRI JAYARAMAN Times News Network
The closely guarded film sets of Madhuri Dixit's comeback vehicle, Aditya Chopra's Aaja Nachle, bursts into action as Madhuri steps out from her cabin, crisp and ready for her shoot. She's lost oodles of weight and looks younger than before. And there's no trace of that infamous balancing-motherhoodwork stress.
"What's the secret? I am training hard. I am taking care of what I eat. I've been very strict with my time, my kids. I'm here from 9 to 6. And after that I don't go anywhere. I just go to work and that's it. The rest of me is for them."
And is the comeback vehicle a dance-musical by chance? "Dance is a lot of things to me. It's very spiritual to begin with. You don't just dance with your body. You dance with your spirit. For me, it's like an expression of everything that I am. But having said that, I felt comfortable with the script of this film in its totality."
Have her fears of a changed Bollywood proven true? "Oh ya! Things are so much different ever since the corporate world stepped in. There used to be a time when I would be given my lines on the sets. But in that there was a spontaneity and magic. But today, it's all planned, the lines, what we're going to do, how we are going to publicise the film, everything's decided beforehand and it makes it so much more easier on the actor. I just fear that the spontaneity is not lost. But that's upto the actors now. "
Is it a different Madhuri on the sets now? "For the first two days I was very nervous. I was shooting after a long time — six years. My fears were like 'Will I be able to do this, that, will I be able to get into the role fast enough. I have my kids at home, will I be able to concentrate on the work?' But my kids love it here, they have both sets of grandparents, their cousins are here and I know they're well taken care of. That's also why I'm so relaxed."
Off the sets, and with old friends, she's picking up from where she had left off. "We were discussing the script in Adi's office when Shah Rukh (Khan) walked in and it was almost as if I'd never gone away. He's someone who had called me when I had my kids. When I meet them, it's as if time has not passed."
Wrapped for the day, Madhuri returns to her kids. "My son asks me, 'Why do you need to make a movie?' And I say 'Because, I'm an actor.' But I'm not promising I'm going to 'comeback' and do five films a year. I get offers, but I'm picky. I'm just focussing on one thing at a time. I have my husband's support. That's why I look so happy," she blushes as she rushes out of the door.
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