Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit is thought for a lot of issues: She has appeared in over 75 motion pictures, her profession within the Hindi movie business has spanned greater than three many years, and she or he is a professionally skilled Kathak dancer. (She was even a muse of Indian painter MF Husain.)
But for director and screenwriter Sri Rao, Dixit was greater than a Bollywood megastar. Rao grew up in a small city in Pennsylvania with dad and mom who as soon as referred to as India dwelling, and Bollywood turned a hyperlink between the cultures that outlined him. Years later, Dixit’s outsize celeb impressed Rao to create “The Fame Game,” Dixit’s first common position in a serious streaming collection.
“It’s hard for me to adequately describe her to folks who aren’t familiar with who she is, because we don’t have a comparable analogy in America,” Rao stated about Dixit in a latest telephone interview. “I try to say she’s like Julia Roberts and Madonna and Meryl Streep all rolled into one, because her level of stardom is so far beyond anything that we know of in the West.”
Madhuri Dixit in a nonetheless from The Fame Game. (Photo: Netflix)
“The Fame Game,” which hit Netflix final month, follows the story of Anamika Anand, a Bollywood star with comparable qualities to Dixit’s. Both have fame that has persevered through the years, and each are recognized for being unbelievable actors and dancers. In the present, Anand’s life seems to be filled with stardom and glamour, however when she abruptly goes lacking, the facade rapidly begins to crumble. The present has been praised by critics and has appeared in Netflix’s Top 10 most-watched record in additional than 10 nations, together with India, Pakistan and Australia.
Dixit, whom The New York Times described because the “reigning queen of Bombay’s film industry” in 2002 and a “Bollywood goddess” in 2007, has typically tried to keep away from labels herself. Around the flip of the millennium, she left India for over a decade, selecting to start out a household within the United States. For most of that point, she additionally stored the movie business at arm’s size. In 2011, she got here again to India along with her husband and two youngsters — and again to the films. But for followers, the phrase “comeback” might by no means stick; her picture again dwelling was nonetheless so ubiquitous, it was as if she had by no means left.
In an interview final month, Dixit mentioned the pervasive nature of stardom and the modifications Bollywood has undergone throughout her profession. These are edited excerpts from the dialog.
Q: What was it like doing a collection as a substitute of movie?
A: When you do a collection, you get a variety of time to develop not solely your personal character but additionally the characters round you. They have their very own little tales, and all of the relationships come by means of fantastically as a result of each character is developed. I feel it turns into a extra fascinating watch.
Q: How a lot do you and Anamika have in widespread, and the way did your experiences affect the way you portrayed her?
A: On the floor, Anamika and I are very comparable within the sense that we’re massive stars, and she or he’s additionally had a variety of expertise in a discipline. I’ve a household and children, and I’m a spouse, daughter, a mom, all these roles. But her experiences are very totally different from mine as a result of I used to be very sheltered. I had a mother who was very caring and really protecting, and Anamika’s mom is extra domineering. I like taking part in her as a result of her journey is so totally different from mine.
Q: This is without doubt one of the solely streaming collection that has targeted on the underbelly of Bollywood. How reasonable did that portrayal really feel to you?
A: Anamika continues to be caught in that period the place all the pieces was dumped on you mainly, like: “You have to do that. You should look a selected method. You should behave a selected method.” And I feel with me, I had a bit of extra freedom to decide on what I needed to do. I received alternatives to work with excellent administrators and scripts that had been very, very ahead for that point.
Anamika is caught in that world the place it’s totally patriarchal. Now she’s attempting to create that house for herself and she or he is struggling not solely with that, but additionally along with her household points and all the pieces. So her journey has been totally different, however within the present there are a variety of feedback on the business which are very actual.
Q: How has the business modified since your earliest days?
A: I used to be fortunate to get roles the place the lady was the middle of all the pieces, though after I began off, it was a really male-dominated business. The solely females on set was once me, my hairdresser and whoever was taking part in the feminine characters within the film. Now after I stroll right into a set, I see girls in every single place in each division, whether or not it is the [director of photography], or it is a make-up artist. Today you see girls behind the digital camera, girls administrators, and there is a variety of energy girls have now.
Q: What has made Hindi cinema, and possibly India at giant, extra open to being by, for and about girls?
A: I feel society has modified on the whole. I keep in mind once we used to speak a couple of female-centric movie, it was once both somebody who’s a sufferer and who rises up ultimately, or somebody who has been wronged and goes to avenge her modesty. But at the moment, girls are seen and perceived differently. Their characters are somebody who helped to launch the rocket to Mars, somebody who was a fantastic mathematician, somebody who’s a fantastic sportswoman. Women are taking part in totally different roles [in society], and the writers are writing roles to that impact. Women getting into writing or directing has additionally modified lots. The pondering is altering slowly.
Q: What do you suppose will draw world viewers and the South Asian diaspora to this present, particularly as somebody who lived within the United States for a few years?
A: The present brings a contemporary have a look at Bollywood and saying that though there’s glitz and glamour, there’s nonetheless on the core, the household values. For the diaspora overseas, they love Bollywood, and we have now proven them that every one the goodness is there. But fame is at all times like a double-edged sword.
Q: Your stardom has persevered by means of the many years, a lot because it has for Anamika. What’s your secret?
A: I imply, there isn’t any secret; it isn’t a fame sport. I feel it is simply the truth that I take my work very critically. I do my roles sincerely, to one of the best of my means, and I’ve by no means shirked from working arduous. Also, all my followers who’ve stood by me by means of thick and skinny, and my household has at all times supported me and that is additionally crucial. I simply love what I do, and I’m very obsessed with it. I’m a really optimistic individual, and I’m able to develop. I’m able to be taught. I’m interested by all the pieces. So I feel all that helps.
Q: There are allusions to moments out of your precise profession within the collection, like your signature dance transfer from the tune “Channe Ke Khet Mein” within the movie “Anjaam.” Do you’ve got a favourite reference from the present?
A: It’s attention-grabbing you must ask me that as a result of [comedian] Lilly Singh put a video on Instagram [of herself watching a scene] after I was on-screen getting a child to do the transfer. [Singh] received up and simply began dancing. I feel that is the sort of euphoria and nostalgia and all the pieces we’re searching for. People ought to simply go on the market and watch it and luxuriate in themselves and consider what they like about Bollywood or what they’ve appreciated. That sort of response is de facto heartening, it is enjoyable, and it is great to look at.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
