Has anyone seen Madhuri Dixit in Denver?
“Aaja Madhuri Nachle”
Friday, July 27, 2007 11:22:14 IST
MADHURI DIXIT tells JYOTHI VENKATESH that though she misses her craft, she does not miss the paraphernalia, which accompanies it
Have you succeeded in getting Ram to watch your films after marriage?
Ram is so busy with his professional commitments that he hardly gets time to watch films. Ram is a partner in private practice.
I am trying to get him interested in watching him some of the latest releases by getting DVDs with sub-titles in English so that he can understand the dialogues.
How is life treating you in Denver as a housewife?
Ï am like any other housewife at my place. In any case people who have known me right from the baeginning of my career since Abodh like you can vouchsafe for the fact that I have always been a very homely soul. I make it a point to go to the super market to buy fruits and vegetables almost every other day because they are perishable commodities and cannot afford to buy them in bulk. My visit to the market depends on the need of the family. I buy cereals however in bulk.
Do you have a cook at home in USA? What kid of food does he cook for your family?
I do not have any cook there. I am the cook of the house. Of course Ram too takes time to help me out and cooks at times, if he is free. Mostly I cook non-vegetarian dishes. Ram is fond of South Indian snacks like dosa while my kids are mad about Chinese food. Once in a while I also make sabudana khichdi and kandha pohe besides Varan Bhat, which is another favorite dish of mine, as well as Ram. I should tell you that I enjoy my stint as a housewife there and do not miss acting at all. When my kids were small, I couldn’t even think of taking up acting. Now though I miss my craft, I do not miss the paraphernalia, which accompanies the craft.
Tell me more about Ram.
Ï couldn’t have asked for any one better than Ram as my husband. He does not let me be just a housewife. In fact in spite of his hectic schedule as a doctor, he helps me out in looking after our kids. In any case in America, kids are independent and on their own when they are 16, unlike in India, where whether it is a son or a daughter, we tend to depend on our parents till we get married. He also encourages me to visit him whenever he is busy with heart transplantation there.
Are you planning to have a daughter too?
Though she is happy with my two sons, I had always wanted to have a daughter. I love my nieces and had actually dreamt that I also would have a daughter of my own. Every one would love to have a daughter. Isn’t it?
What do you think your kids would take up acting or a career in medicine?
Right now it is far too early to even think of what my kids are going to take up as a career in future. Whether they want to take up medicine as their career or acting as their vocation, it all depends upon their mental frame of mind when they grow up. It is the duty of Ram and me to educate them properly so that they become intelligent enough to chalk out their own profession. We are there to guide them and advise them about the pros and cons of each and every profession, that is if they care to seek our opinion as and when they need it.
Do your kids watch Hindi films?
My eldest son saw Dhoom 2 and liked it so much that he literally sat through the entire film without getting bored. Her kids have also seen Harry Potter and liked it. Both my kids are also very fond of the song Meter Down in Taxi No. 9211. Both my kids, especially the elder one also freak out on my number Maar Daala in Devdas because it is catchy and they can sing along when the song is aired. They are also crazy about Himesh Reshammiyta, especially his song Ek Baar Aaja Aaja since they were here when the music album was released and we used to play it in our car whenever we went out of our house.
Tell us about your foray in acting in films now with Yashji’s Aaja Nachle!
Hey! Let me make it very clear that I am not here in Mumbai to revive my career as an actress in films. Besides this film which I have done for Yashji, I have no intention of taking up any other offer because I still continue to be a housewife and do not intend leaving my husband and family in the lurch for the same of a career in films. Acting is something, which I have done all through my life. I wouldn’t say that I am desperate to stage a comeback as an actress. I agreed to work in Yashji’s film only because there is a comfort level, which I share with the production house having worked in his film Dil To Pagal Hai.
Why did you turn down to act in a period film on Ravi Varma earlier?
I cannot afford to leave the kids back home and come to shoot for the film in Mumbai. With kids, you cannot afford to travel around or run around. It is wrong to insinuate that I did not take up the project only because Rikuji asked for a lot of money. I could afford to take up the offer when Yashji offered this film to me because I know for a fact that Yashji knows that I am a thorough professional and I will say I cannot shoot for a day or two only if I have a valid reason. Filmmaking has also changed in a big way. Nowadays I am told movies get completed professionally unlike in the days of yore in two months flat, even with big stars.
Tell me something about your role in Aaja Nachle!
Expect the unexpected! All that I can say about my role in the film, is that it is out and out a woman oriented role, which any actress would love to grab. In fact I would not hesitate to go to the extent of stating that the script of the film is the hero, oops sorry heroine. I got the completely bound script with me well in advance before the shooting schedule. I cannot think of working in films after my kids start going to school in Denver.
Did you have any reservations about taking up Yashji’s offer since it is not Yashji but cinematographer Anil Mehta who has directed Aaja Nachle?
Anil is a brilliant cinematographer. Yashji has a lot of trust in him. As a cameraman his eye does not focus only on the camera. On the contrary he has a lot of inputs like a director too even while he is shooting a film as a cinematographer. Hence the performance of an artiste is always enhanced when there is a person like Mehtaji, who has a lot of experience behind the camera.
How do you manage to look trim even after becoming a mother of two kids?
I started working out to knock of whatever excess weight I had gained after marriage and delivery of my two kids. You have got to look good if you choose a career. Why just because of a career, even otherwise Ram and I are health freaks and even have our own individual and independent gym at home where we make it a point to work out daily. You have got to be fit and trim even to look after your two kids, isn’t it?
Will you act in a Marathi film considering Marathi is your mother tongue?
I am surprised that I did not get even a single meaty offer to work in a film in Marathi, my mother tongue. I will be more than eager to do a film in Marathi provided if get a good offer. After all I cannot forget the fact that I am a Maharashtrian mulgi. Can I?”