It was April 1992 and I was four months into my career as a film journalist. After covering pretty mundane stuff in Mumbai, I finally got a chance to head towards the cooler climes of Ooty. It was my first trip as a film journalist and I was finally getting to where the action happened--the location shoot of the film Prem Deewane starring Jackie Shroff, Pooja Bhatt, Vivek Mushran and of course Madhuri Dixit. who had five years back danced into millions of hearts with “Ek do Teen---..
At 27, I had a certain natural exuberance and certainly thought that the world was my stage. It was at the location of the shooting when I perceived Madhuri, I was as some eminent writer has said--suitably overawed. It was then that the significance of the moment dawned on me. I was in the presence of Madhuri Dixit.
Madhuri spoke to the bunch of journalists who had come from Mumbai in between giving shots. My natural exuberance returned after a while, when I began my line of questioning.
Indian cinema I said in my wisdom hadn’t really come upto world standards. For instance when a person read a book he came away feeling far more intellectually charged than when watching a movie. Madhuri asked me to explain this further. For instance, I said that when a person read Karl Marx, one came away with thoughts of revolution while one got nothing of that sort on watching our movies. “That is because, when a person goes to the movies he is looking at taking his mind off his troubles and enjoy. He is not receptive to messages like those given by Karl Marx,” Madhuri said. I was suitably impressed by her explanation.
Soon after some more questioning I felt that perhaps I had been too aggressive. I confessed to her that I was one of her fans and had seen her movie Saajan several times. I also suggested that she had possibly enough of me for the time being. She just laughed and said, “We will call you Karl Marx,” even as I said goodbye.
A sense of humour and a sense of timing. The same sense of timing that made her walk away from the arc lights and settle for matrimonial bliss at the right moment. That is Madhuri Dixit Nene for you.
1 comment:
Sense of humour and sense of timing.....all of us who know you well enough can vouch that you certianly have that in abundance.....So you and Madhuri are one of a kind....am sure she had a better match in you....there could have been more matrimonial bliss for her if only.....but nevermind...thats her loss.....
Ok on a serious note...I enjoy reading this blog of yours...its very refreshing....Has got me bag to reading a bit....And it is certainly better than ABs blog.....Go on give us more!!!!!!!!!!!
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