By Fuad Omar
Madhuri Dixit is undoubtedly the Queen of Indian cinema. Her career spans a
string of successful films and her performances are legendary, be they on
the big screen or on stage. Her latest release Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke, despite
carrying not too promising reports, is packing cinemas everywhere
(especially in the UK) and has even done better in its opening week than the
other big movie Dil Chahta Hai. The reports of the movie are average but
people unanimously agree on the finer point being Madhuri and her
performance, as always.
Her next release is Rajkumar Santoshi's Lajja which too is carrying high
expectations. The audience just cannot get enough of Madhuri and the
'Madhuri Magic' continues with her every release.
Her startling quantum leap from anonymity to ubiquity is one that has
dispelled many calculations of Bollywood pundits and left many astrologers
impoverished. Her lightning success story after a struggle of 6 years is an
example of one of today's stars who has influenced the life of many an
Indian and is heralded by some as an ambassador of the country.
In 1984 the shy teenager made her debut in a Rajshri film Abodh which was
soon forgotten, leaving the heroine to the same fate. Ten years later a
confident 'number one' actress stars in the biggest hit of the century,
Rajshri's Hum Aapke Hain Kaun..! and the superstar's megastar status is
reaffirmed.
Critics argued that the film was too sweet and she left some with a diabetic
syndrome, but the fact was that she mesmerised on screen and everyone's eyes were
fixed on her throughout, following her unknowingly. Since her dramatic entry
on roller-skates in the film, and as she sang and waltzed through the
picture, handling professionally the most complicated and emotionally
demanding role effortlessly, she had the entire audience enthralled and
India captive to 'Madhuri Mania'. With her perfect lip-synching, an
impeccable Urdu pronunciation (despite being of Maharashtrian origin) and
her command of a galaxy of expressions as well as being pleasing to the eye,
a shining star had seemingly been born out of a dwindling meteor. But then,
given her enviable reservoir of talent, this was inevitable and she
personifies the ultimate female Indian star.
Madhuri's presence in the peacock screen is one which holds high expectation
and increases the distribution price of a film, along with its credibility
and box office draw. In the industry famous for being fraught with routine
back stabbings, petty politics, jealousy, cut-throat competition and largely
blind superstition, her struggle and success proves she is a survivor and
winner of the public's affection and prayers. Her transition from a passive
zombie, 'only good for coy smiles and heaving or bursting into kathak or disco', to a self assertive, visible entity is unmistakable. The Hindi film
heroine today has plum roles thanks to Madhuri's power and stance in the
industry. The past 17 years have been years of learning she modestly
confesses, but also the ones that have transformed her into every newcomer's
inspiration, every new hero's dream and new heroine's idol.
Her success was initially credited to her hit pairing with veteran actor
Anil Kapoor, but this myth was fast disproved when two consecutive films
starring the favourites, Jeevan Ek Sangharsh and Jamai Raja, flopped
miserably. Similarly when her dancing skills and good numbers were deemed
responsible for her success she gave a flop with Sailaab, a dancing
extravaganza, establishing herself as a talent whose success factor could
not be pin pointed to one or two attributes. Her first film Abodh in 1984,
was a flop, as were her five subsequent films, but she hit back in 1989 as
she became known as the "Ek-Do-Teen" girl for Tezaab, which gave her dancing
and acting scope to prove she had some fire in her. She strengthened her
position in 1990 with Ram Lakhan and has not looked back since. Although her
laser eyed histrionics in Tezaab won her rapturous reviews and she gave a
comic resonance to the 1990 film Dil, the spotlight was only about to shine
brightest on the rising superstar.
Today she is regarded as a self made celebrity and superstar and clearly the
most versatile actress in Bollywood. Her presence alone carries a film and makes
it a must-see and her star power demands roles be written especially with
her in mind. While some claim her dazzling smile leaves hearts fluttering
and her charismatic roles are haunting, others say there is no explanation
for the Madhuri Magic. No specific factors make Madhuri who she is, but one
major plus point is her Indian-ness. While studying media, I read a book on
stars and found a reference which seemed to spell out Madhuri to the core:
Richard Dyers work in his book Stars categorically states stars exist
because of a reservoir of talent, which according to him include "striking
photogenic looks, acting ability, presence on camera, charm and personality,
sex appeal, attractive voice and bearing", which to any Indian reads like a
checklist of Madhuri's strengths.
The superhit film Saajan put Madhuri firmly on the map and left many
expectations for her to live up to. In 1992 she earned a sex symbol status
as she made India's male population's hearts go "dhak dhak" and stunned with
a convincing performance in Beta for which she gained a Filmfare Award for
Best Actress. Her next release Sangeet did not fare well and this began a
bad year, but it was soon made clear - flops no longer affected Madhuri's star
status as she was loved by the public in her every appearance and it seemed
the press were the ones eager to pull her down with every silver screen
failure. But 1993 saw the release of the eagerly awaited Subhash Ghai film
and Sanjay Dutt- Jackie Shroff- Madhuri Dixit starrer Khalnayak again in
which her presence was prominent. The film was shrouded with controversy as
the film's hero-cum-villain Sanjay Dutt was arrested in an arms possession
case and the song "Choli ke Peechay Kya Hai" caused great pre-release
tension. However the song may have tweaked conservative sensibilities, but
with the aid of choreographer Saroj Khan's magnetic movements and Madhuri's
innocence, the song and dance number became a kind of mass market art form,
and the film was passed by censors with few cuts. The Indian audience made
it 1993's biggest hit and Madhuri was loved by all as she became heralded as
the new numero uno actress by the media in their fickle numbers game which
they constantly attach to cinema's stars.
After this rumours of a contemporary actress Juhi Chawla overtaking her in
the battle for the number one slot were ripe as Juhi was present in the
hits, and Madhuri's films were not making the expected impact. The press
were quick to respond, touting Juhi as their new favourite and Madhuri
maintained a dignified stance refusing to be sucked into such controversies
and comment, enlightening the press in an interview of the public reaction:
"The numbers game is media made. They try and place you on a pedestal or
write you off with every release. The audiences are less fickle and
narrow-minded, they are in the cinemas purely for entertainment. I am
touched by the fiercely loyal fans I have who write to these magazines
whenever they write something not-so-flattering about me. I am not a
superstar and am not aware of the impact I have on people's lives. I am just
an ordinary girl enjoying my work, and my efforts are being appreciated."
1994 proved the rumours wrong as Juhi gave not a single hit and Madhuri's
Anjaam with Shahrukh Khan released and flopped, but gained her much critical
acclaim for her heart-wrenching and polished performance, considered by some
as her finest. The audience began to recognise the characteristic narrowing
of her eyes as the indication of an emotional eruption and cheered whenever
they sensed this on screen. August 1994 made history as the biggest
grossing film of all time was released, Rajshri's Hum Aapke Hain Kaun..!
which ran to packed cinema houses for a period of four years before finally
being released on video. Her star status was recognised to the hilt with
this movie as she was given top billing over even the film's superstar hero
Salman Khan, and more significantly the posters of Sooraj Barjatya's second
venture differed greatly from his cult debut film Maine Pyar Kiya (1989),
showing Madhuri's vitalising woman-of-the-90s image and contribution to
Indian cinema. While Maine Pyar Kiya showed a docile Bhagyashree at the feet
of a bare-chested Salman Khan, Hum Aapke Hain Koun's posters displayed a
self possessed Madhuri standing shoulder to shoulder with Salman, confidence
writ large on her face. She has evolved from actress to star to superstar to
an icon. Any misunderstanding of any actress even entering Madhuri's league has
been resolved as she wiped out all competition. Hum Aapke Hain Koun is not
only the biggest film of Madhuri's career, but the biggest grosser of all
time, and Madhuri has a lot to do with it.
She picked up a list of awards for her performance including the prestigious
Filmfare award and Screen-Videocon Award for Best Actress for the film. She
had finally truly established herself and carved a niche as the ultimate
female superstar of Indian cinema and is today Bollywood's highest paid
heroine, earning a place in the Millennium edition of the Guinness Book of
World Records. Hits followed regularly after but every year Hum Aapke Hain
Koun continued to run like a phenomenon. Madhuri was crowned the queen of
Bollywood and her star status reached a level where she was called the 'female Amitabh Bachchan'. Her stage shows sold out and fans flocked to her
shootings to catch a glimpse of the ultimate star. She has even been called
the peacemaker between India and Pakistan as a Pakistani official joked to a
national newspaper on his visit to India, "You can keep Kashmir, just give
us Madhuri!"
When I recently met Madhuri on the sets of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas,
she was still the eternal beauty looking better than ever, and I was
probably for the first time in years a bundle of nerves. I even remember
breaking the ice by telling her, "If I start stammering or fumbling my
questions, you'll have to forgive me, it's just that you've given so much to
Indian cinema and been the one I watched growing up, so this is a little
daunting."
Her response was the trademark Madhuri smile, laced with her gentle laughter
as she slowly tilted her head back slightly and responded:
"Oh please! I'm sure you've interviewed much bigger stars than me!".
Ever the modest Madhuri! Meeting Madhuri Dixit is still to this day the
highlight of my journalistic and writing career, because she really is a
living legend. Judging by the army of fans she has who criticise anyone who
dares write against her and the response to her new film, it seems like
myself, you too all have her firmly embedded in your hearts as someone who's
never needed to ask: Hum Aapke Hain Kaun?
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