Madhuri Dixit still rules Bollywood with her smile and dance moves
Madhuri Dixit's million dollar smile makes hearts go Dhak Dhak just that little bit faster. She's 50 today and her luminous charm is undimmed.
As the beautiful and talented actress turns a year older, we take you through a pictorial journey of her life.
Madhuri was born on May 15, 1967, to Shankar and Snehlata Dixit. She is the youngest of four and has two sisters, Rupa and Bharathi, and a brother, Ajit.
Madhuri is a trained Kathak dancer. At one point of time in her life she wanted to become a microbiologist. But destiny had other plans.
In 1999, Madhuri Dixit married Dr Shriram Nene, a cardiovascular surgeon from Denver. Madhuri moved to the US for many years and the couple have two sons, Arin and Raayan.
Films happened to Madhuri by chance. She appeared in her first movie, Abodh, in 1984 opposite Bengali actor Tapas Pal. The movie, which was made by Sooraj Barjatya, didn't do well at the box office.
After Abodh, Madhuri was relegated to minor roles in movies like Vardi and Dayavan, in which she had a risque scene with Vinod Khanna.
Almost four years after her debut, Madhuri was just Ek, Do, Teen steps away from superstardom. She finally got her big break with Tezaab in 1988 and scored her first Filmfare nomination for Best Actress.
Tezaab made the Madhuri-Anil Kapoor jodi hugely popular and the two were seen together in other hit movies like Ram Lakhan, Parinda and Kishen Kanhaiya.
In 1990, Madhuri did Indra Kumar's Dil, which was her first movie with Aamir Khan. She played the role of a rich, arrogant girl in the film. Dil went on to become a huge success at the box office and Madhuri won her first Filmfare Best Actress Award.
The very next year, Madhuri starred in love triangle Saajan with Sanjay Dutt and Salman Khan. The movie became a huge hit as did its soundtrack.
By this time Madhuri had found her niche in Bollywood. The actress continued her winning streak with Beta opposite Anil Kapoor, which fetched her a second Filmfare Best Actress Award.
Her sultry dance moves in the song Dhak Dhak Karne Laga from Beta took her from girl next door to seductress.
After Beta, she appeared in a string of moderately successful films like Khel, Prem Diwane, Sangeet and Dharavi.
In 1993, came Subhash Ghai's Khalnayak, which again had a hit dance number, the risque Choli Ke Peeche. The movie also starred Sanjay Dutt and Jackie Shroff.
Sooraj Barjatya's Hum Aapke Hain Koun! released in 1994 and became one of the biggest blockbusters ever in the history of Hindi cinema. Salman Khan playing the male lead, won Madhuri her third Filmfare Best Actress Award.
Madhuri was also nominated in the same category for her performance in revenge drama Anjaam, in which she starred in a quasi-negative role opposite Shah Rukh Khan.
In 1997, Madhuri appeared in Yash Chopra's Dil To Paagal Hai. The film, which also starred Shah Rukh Khan and Karisma Kapoor, set cash registers ringing and Madhuri won her fourth Filmfare Best Actress award.
Despite her huge commercial success, Madhuri didn't shy away from experimenting with art house movies. She signed Prakash Jha's Mrityudand. It won the Best Feature Film award at the Cinema Tout Ecran in Geneva and the Bangkok Film Festival. Her performance in the film landed her the Best Actress award at the annual Star Screen Awards.
After getting married, Madhuri took a break from Bollywood. She returned to the big screen as Chandramukhi in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas (2002) and won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for her performance.
Artist M F Husain considered Madhuri Dixit his muse and directed her in the movie Gaja Gamini. Several of his paintings were inspired by Madhuri's role in Hum Aapke Hai Koun.
Madhuri made what was meant to be a grand return to the big screen with Aaja Nachle in 2007. The movie did not click with the audience.
In 2008, Madhuri received the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award for her contribution to the Indian cinema.
In 2013, Madhuri made a special appearance in a song for the film Bombay Talkies and was also seen shaking a leg with Ranbir Kapoor in the song Ghagra from his film Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani.
She was next seen in Vishal Bhardwaj's Dedh Ishqiya, the sequel to his 2010 hit film Ishqiya. Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi reprised their roles from the first film and Madhuri's performance was very well-received. A few months later the same year Madhuri appeared in Gulaab Gang where she took on her 90's rival Juhi Chawla as a pink saree clad vigilante group leader. The film tanked at the box office.
Madhuri also judged dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa with filmmaker Karan Johar and choreographer Remo D'Souza.
A wax version of Madhuri Dixit resides in Madame Tussaud's Museum, London. She unveiled her statue in March 2012, saying, "I am thrilled to be here in Madame Tussaud's unveiling a wax figure of myself. It's incredible just how detailed the figure is - they have captured my look beautifully! I feel very humbled to be included alongside other Bollywood stars and some of my personal heroes."
Madhuri is famous not just for her acting talent but also for her dancing. At a time when item girls were rare, Madhuri's dance sequences were often the best reason to watch a movie. These included Ek, Do, Teen (Tezaab), Humko Aaj Kal Hai (Sailaab), Dhak Dhak (Beta), Chane Ke Khet Mein (Anjaam), Didi Tera Devar Deewana (Hum Aapke Hain Koun! ), Choli Ke Peechhe (Khalnayak), Akhiyan Milaun (Raja), Mera Piya Ghar Aaya (Yaarana), Kay Sera Sera (Pukar), Maar Daala (Devdas) and most recently Ghagra (Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani). Most of these songs have been choreographed by Saroj Khan.
In 2013, Madhuri launched an online dance academy called 'Dance with Madhuri'. This year, she launched the dance tutorial's revamped version 'Dance with Madhuri 2.0', which has lessons crafted in detail by gurus like Pandit Birju Maharaj, Saroj Khan, Terence Lewis, Remo and others. On the film front, the actress hasn't signed any projects yet.
Madhuri Dixit hasn't signed any movie as of now but she is often seen at social events.
.jpg "Madhuri Dixit@50: A Jhalak Of The Dhak Dhak Girl")
