Interview: Madhuri Dixit

Article Updated 02 December, 2007 09:55:19 PM IST

Interview: Madhuri Dixit

The "dhak dhak" girl is back after brief hiatus. Madhuri Dixit whose magic and charisma is timeless and intact even after two decades of 'Ek Do Teen' speaks to Bollyvista on her comeback film Aaja Nachle, changes in Bollywood and her future plans. Over to Madhuri Dixit:

How different is it working with YRF after 10 years?

Yash Raj Films has always been very organized even 10 years back but now I would say they are super organized, they are like 10 steps ahead of what they were and it's always a delight to work with them. Its funny, I always wanted to work with Anil Mehta before but in a different capacity, I wanted him as a cameraman for one of my projects and it didn't happen at that time so I think god had different plans then in his mind. It's been a wonderful experience. When I did Dil To Pagal Hai I had a lovely time working with them and even today Yashji has kept his standards and also built this beautiful studio. It has been a beautiful experience working with them.

Can you tell us something about the character you play in this film?

The character I play is Diya who is extremely strong. She is very independent and she has to leave her village. She actually elopes with someone she falls in love with and she tries to make a life for herself in New York where she realizes that the person she ran away with is not the same. Somewhere she realizes that this not what she had come for. She has a child. She is a choreographer who makes a life for herself out there. She works exactly like what her guru was to her and she is to the others. Then when she has to come back. Her whole journey is how she comes back to her town where people don't like her anymore and how she tries to save something that is very close to her heart, something that she believes in and how she stands by it and how she sees the whole mission through is what the movie is about. So I see her as a very intelligent and a very strong person who doesn't sit and cry about her problems but instead takes everything bang on and says let's go ahead from here. She is a very positive person who always looks forward to life and she believes in the spirit of people. She believes that goodness exists and everybody has a good side and something good comes out of it.

What was it about the script that made you decide on doing this film?

First of all, I think its a story of believing in something and standing by it. It is a very feel good kind of a movie, a very positive movie. Its very relevant in today's times where you see western culture taking over everywhere else and our own roots are kind of fading away like theater, especially this kind of a dying art today and something needs to be done to revive it. So I think its like basically going back to your values, your roots and back to your culture and I think that's very relevant today.

Can you tell something about how this offer came to you and what made you decide to do this film?

It all started with my performance at Filmfare. That's where Yashji saw me and asked if I would be interested in working again. It was just a conversation like that I never thought about it seriously. Then I happened to meet Aditya Chopra when I had come to see the studios and we just got talking. I think that's when something clicked in Adi's head. He had some subject with him for a long time. That's what I came to know later because they didn't tell me anything at that time.

I left for Denver, then my secretary Rikkuji got in touch with me saying they have a subject for me. I just had an idea of it and I quite liked the gist of what he had given. He told me that he would send me the script then Adi came over to Denver just to tell me what he had in mind. I thought it to be a very good subject. It is also very relevant to where I am right now. I have worked with Yashji before in Dil To Pagal Hai and I know they are extremely professional. When say they will be complete a film in four months, they will do it. I have very high regards for Yashji and I know that whatever product they make they make sure they do a good job of it, so I had that confidence in them as filmmakers. They have also worked with married artists, so there was a kind of a comfort for me to work with them. So, there were many such factors that went into my deciding to do this film.

Was making a comeback a difficult decision?

Well yes, one is scared when you making a comeback because everything you do, you want it to be the best. Because there is a lot of speculation on what the subject should be, what kind of role Madhuri should do and there is a lot of expectations. Also, from the different people I have met, there is a genuine happiness to see me do a movie after a long time. So there is a lot of expectation that rest on the shoulders and that kind of can weigh you down sometimes, whether this will be a right kind of a move and whether people will like me in this kind of a role and stuff like that.

When we were working on it, it was such a beautiful experience throughout that I had to keep my fingers crossed that people would like the movie. Yes, it is always a difficult decision to work again after a long time. Also because I have two kids now, its not just my responsibility towards my film its the babies too. There was that apprehension about how they would adjust to Bombay because they have never lived here for along stretch of time. So in that sense it was a little scary to come here and shoot, hoping they'd enjoy it, but they really had fun. My older son has started speaking in Hindi and singing Hindi songs. Out there we are not in touch with Hindi films but here they watched a few movies and are getting used to the filmy clout.

What was it like working with Anil Mehta?

It's been wonderful. I used to always think I am the only patient person in the world and that I am very mellow but when I worked with Anil Mehta, I realized there is another person who is much more patient than I am, much calmer then I am and that has helped me a lot. He was always very patient, even if we were shooing in the sun or the worst weather in whatever situation we were, he was always calm. He has been a pillar to all actors. Since I wanted to do a film with him before, it was wonderful to work with him finally. I am glad that I worked with him in this capacity as a director because he understands performances and he is also a big help when you perform. He knows exactly what he wants, what the shot is going to be and he never hesitated to tell me, "lets take it a little higher or lower." He is also very flexible. If I wanted to do something he would let me go ahead and do it. He was not rigid in only doing what he wanted, only in a particular way but he understood the performances and that was the biggest help in this
film.

What was the experience like working with Vaibhavi Merchant?

I think with Vaibhavi its been a challenge for her as well because I have worked with different choreographers like Saroj Khan, Chinni Prakash, Prabhudeva and so many other people and they have always been like Madhuri Dixit dances and she has to compete with all the background that I have had and yet make it look little different that its her style. It is a different choreographer who is giving me the dance steps and also she had a wide range in this movie from western dancing to Indian to rustic. I must say that she has come off with flying colours and has done a very good job in all the songs and I enjoyed working with her. She is very bright and quick.

What is you favourite track from the film?

It's hard to say because all the songs have their own charm, whether it is the song in New York or the one where I am performing on stage after I come first time to India. 'Bulbul', I think is very peppy and Indian but there is so many layers to that song because the whole story is told in that song.

Can you tell us a little about your look in the film?

The look is different because I am playing the woman who has spent like a good 10 years abroad and she has made a place for herself there. She is a choreographer and her whole attitude is that it is a man's world kind of a thing. She's not very feminine or delicate so she has to look her part through out the movie, whereas when she is dancing or when she is doing nothing she fits into a different role all together. I think that was the biggest challenge for Manish for it to look constantly like that she's not a frail or a delicate women and that she's out there, tough. He needed to give that look without being over the top, keeping a balance. It is like a mixture of everything and that had to be brought across throughout the movie. We have successfully managed to do that.

Can you tell us about the sets that were created for this film?

It was small town created called Shamali right there in Filmcity. At the end of Shamali was the theater Ajanta, which is the pillar of the story that everything revolves around. They have done it so beautifully. It was very refreshing to go there and see one story houses like you have in small towns which was very pleasantly made. You have the little gallis that you miss out on these days, little shops lining the gallis and the changes that happen. Once I leave Shamali and come back after 10 years, all the changes that have happened in that time seem sudden. The little town looks very different because it now has these jazzy looking things happening there like new mobile shops. I think they did a brilliant job with that. We were so comfortable in that village that it became a part of our lives for those four months and everybody kind of got attached to it.

How do you prioritize your personal and professional life?

I have my priorities right, my kids are my first concern. Even when I was working I made sure they were comfortable so I didn't have to worry about anything once I went on the sets. Yashji was very sweet. He made a play area in case they came on the sets they could go and play while I was shooting. Their grandparents are here. My mother in-law came in and stayed with them so that they were kind of well settled. Everybody has been so supportive. My husband came twice to be with the kids for a good 10-15 days. Because I had all this support around me it became possible for me to shoot without any tension on my head. I think my kids enjoyed themselves, getting pampered, meeting my cousins who have kids their age. They socialized, watched movies and had fun. They opened up, broadened their horizons and learned different languages

You are back on the sets after a very long time? Do you see any changes in the way things are done in the industry?

Yash Raj has always been the same, very organized and competent but when I look around me I see a lot of changes. I came to know of different movies being made and how they are organized. All scripts are made beforehand, actors received bound scripts which never happened before. We used to step on the set sometimes not knowing what we are going to say in that particular scene. Dialogues were written on the sets but that does not happen any more. This is wonderful for actors because they can prepare and perform much better because they have everything ready going into it. Looks are decided beforehand. What you are going to wear in every scene is decided. Different subjects are being made because of multiplexes today. They know their audience, target it and make a particular film like Bheja Fry or Khosla Ka Ghosla. It is wonderful for Indian cinema. It needed that and its happening and it is beautiful.

What was it like working with sync sound for the first time?

I have always dubbed for all my films so I have never heard my own voice because it gets drowned with all the camera noise and the other noises around us. Even the studios used to be so noisy in those times. It was the first time with sync sound that there was pin drop silence and I could literally hear my voice for the first time when I talked on the sets. I think that is wonderful because you can hear your own voice and you can analyze your own dialogue and you can say you want a little bit of inflection. It is also wonderful because you don't have to dub for the movie. When we used to dub for a film, it would be like you were doing the whole film over again. While trying to recreate what you have done, it sometimes is a struggle to do it. Sometimes it is a boon because you can correct any mistakes made. Now, there is no chance of making a mistake, you have to be perfect and be sure of what you are saying. The words have to be very clear but that helps the performance and its been great doing sync sound.

Are you open to do doing more films post Aaja Nachle?

I don't know yet. I haven't decided if I will be doing more films or which film I will be doing. Right now I am just living in the moment. These four months have been lovely while I was shooting Aaja Nachle. I feel as if I have achieved something and everything went off smoothly and that was lucky because anything could have gone wrong. I could have gotten sick or my kids could have got sick and things could have got delayed. I think god has been kind and everything went of well. Right now I am reveling in whatever we have done and not really giving it a thought.

How did you feel on the film sets after so many years?

It was great. The first day I was little apprehensive. Its not as if you are going to forget something but when you are working there is a certain kind of discipline that happens automatically. Everything around becomes very mechanical except the performance.

Its like well oiled wheels churning round and round but when that stops and you come back you feel am I a little rusty in starting. Once I started shooting, it was just the first two hours when I felt that I was coming back after six years.

Any one memorable incident during the shoot of the film?

We had this scene where they were suppose to use the projector and I see something on screen and it is a sad scene where I am suppose to be crying because my guru is dying. They bought these little old projector reels and they had Charlie Chaplin on it. I think I must be the only person in the world who has cried while watching Charlie Chaplin on screen. That's a memorable scene that sticks out in my mind because I had to just ignore the fact that it was Charlie Chaplin and kind of not watch it while I was looking at the projector and crying away.

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