Tezaab to Kalank, Madhuri Dixit Proves That Age is Just A Number

Almost three decades later, Madhuri Dixit is still giving us all kinds of goals.

Madhuri Dixit is a dream in ‘Tabaah Ho Gaye’.

(Photo: Arnica Kala/ The Quint)

“Mohini! Mohini!”

A girl in a pink dress and yellow headband graces our screens, she looks like a dream but as soon as she starts dancing, you can’t help drop everything, sit down and just admire the sheer grace, beauty and magnificence.

It is none other than Madhuri Dixit.

‘Ek do teen’ is special and iconic and so is Madhuri.

It was the first time where people saw what she is capable of, in terms of acting and especially dance and the rest, as they say, is history.

A five year old me would sing the song and dance around the house with a side pony and my mom’s dupatta wrapped around my waist. When asked to stop, I would say “Mai counting ki practice kar rhi hu” and continue to sashay away.

She has an impact like no other that leaves you wanting for more. When I saw the trailer of Kalank with her dancing, the little girl in me still squealed with the same joy as she did some 15 years earlier.

Madhuri Dixit: The Enigma

As I grew older and saw more of Madhuri on screen, I kept falling head over heels for her and her enigma, every damn time.

Be it ‘Didi tera dewar’ or the more contemporary ‘K sera sera’ with an equally brilliant Prabhu Deva, she tried different genres over the years and excelled. Always.

Getting people to notice you while dancing besides the ‘Prabhu’ of dance is no mean feat but she does that and more.

She donned many hats over the years with ease and excellence. Dancer, actor, producer, reality TV judge and now reportedly a singer too. She left at the prime of her career but came back with a bang. She has shown that taking chances is the only way you grow.

I was about eight when Devdas released and I had a new anthem to dance to. As a shy and awkward kid, dancing alone in my home was my out and Madhuri was the inspiration that I needed.

‘Dola re dola’ was the perfect mix of Bhansali’s grandeur and Madhuri’s talent. I was smitten, as was the whole of the nation. And some years later, when I heard Saroj Khan say that she was pregnant while shooting that song, my respect for her reached a new zenith.

I understood that she is not only #DanceGoals, she is where she is because of a ton of hard work from a very young age and a lot of discipline. It’s easy to admire it from afar as a fan but if I really want to take away something substantial, I should learn to have these virtues too.

‘Tabaah Ho Gaye’: The ‘Comeback’ Madhuri Deserves

By the time I could understand cinema and complex themes, she had already gone into retirement. That was a time I revisited her older works and fell in love, all over again. She wasn’t just Madhuri, she was all those characters she played with conviction over the years.

She wasn’t just Madhuri from ‘Dola re dola’, she was Chandramukhi too who portrayed the passion, sadness, anger and frustration all with so much ease. It was her, one with her character.

I was lucky, she made an infamous comeback. Even though ‘Aaja Nachle’ wasn’t a huge success, I have always enjoyed it the multiple times I saw it on TV. And I might be a little biased but her dance is one of the highlights of the movie.

‘Dedh Ishqiya’ was the first time I saw her on the big screen and I considered myself lucky. Begum Jaan did her justice and vice-versa and choosing something on the lines of lesbian romance in Indian mainstream, my respect for her as an artist, grew even more.

I am waiting to go to watch Kalank and see her in action. She looks as good at 40+ in the song ‘Tabaah ho gaye’, moving with utmost grace and sophistication.

I see my millennial friends drooling over her moves and people my parents age saying “lagta hai kuch nahi badla itne saalo mein” and I know I am not the only one bitten by the MD bug.

Every move is on point. She gives Alia Bhatt tough competition and commands the screen as nobody’s business.

It revives memories of ‘Hara rang’ and makes you wish the song was just a little bit longer for you to savour the brilliance. But nonetheless, I am super pumped for the movie and I know I won’t be disappointed.

Forever,

A Madhuri Dixit fan.