Madhuri Dixit was one of the biggest stars of the 1990s, but her early slate of films didn’t get much attention. In fact, they flopped so terribly that her parents even considered getting her married. Madhuri wouldn’t have been the star that she became had the person her parents approached to marry her said yes. But he rejected the offer, and Madhuri was eventually spotted by director Subhash Ghai in a chance encounter. He re-launched her with the film Ram Lakhan, a year after she gained appreciation for her role in Tezaab. This was the late 1980s.
In an interview, veteran actor Raza Murad spoke about the importance of luck in a performer’s life. He cited the example of Amitabh Bachchan, who also had a string of flops behind him before he broke out with the film Zanjeer in the early 1970s. He then spoke about Madhuri. “She was doing insignificant films like Abodh and Awara Baap. Nobody cared for her, nobody noticed her. Her parents decided to get her married, because her career was at rock bottom. They approached a playback singer, and arranged a meeting between them. He looked at her and said, ‘She’s too thin’.”
Murad continued, “Some time later, she was filming in Kashmir with Rajesh Khanna. Close by, Subhash Ghai was also at work. Her hairdresser went to meet him, and he asked what film she was working on. She introduced him to Madhuri, and he was immediately struck by her appearance. He asked her to meet him in Mumbai, and re-launched her because he had a good sense. Otherwise, it was basically pack-up time for her.”
Actress Madhuri Dixit in Uttar Dakshin. (Express Archive)
Appearing on the singing reality show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa in 2023, singer Suresh Wadkar seemed to admit that he was the person who rejected an offer to marry Madhuri. When host Aditya Narayan asked him about a certain rumour around a very popular actor’s parents approaching him with an offer to marry her, he blushed and looked at his wife, who was sitting next to him. He said that he is very content in life, and very glad that he found a ‘madhuri named Padma’. This seemed to be confirmation enough for the panel of judges, including Anu Malik and Himesh Reshammiya, who expressed shock.
Madhuri married US-based cardiovascular surgeon Sriram Nene in 1999, and quit the films for a few years when she moved to Denver to raise a family. She returned in the mid-2000s with Dr Nene and their two sons, who are now studying in college. Madhuri herself is a prominent fixture on singing reality shows, and Suresh Wadkar admitted that he might get told off one day for what he said on national TV.
