Madhuri Dixit Nene: ‘I miss Karan Johar on the show’

Madhuri Dixit-Nene is super busy. She has a Marathi film, Bucket List, releasing today and has two Hindi movies, Total Dhamaal and Kalank, coming up. She is also returning to TV after two years with Dance Deewane, as a judge. But despite her hectic schedule, Madhuri’s energy is at an all-time high. Her smile, of course, is infectious, and her enthusiasm is contagious. Ask her what brings her back to TV and without blinking she says, “Dance.

That’s my passion. Also, this is the first dance show where three generations are going to be performing on the same platform. So, there will be a kid, his father and grandfather all three competing together and with each other,” she enthuses.

Having shot for a couple of episodes, the actress shares that she was blown away to see a 70-year-old woman on a wheelchair getting up and dancing for three-four minutes! “She said she does it every day for two minutes because of her love for dancing but on the show, she stood up and danced for four minutes! We got worried, but she was so good. Then there is a visually-impaired girl who is doing her visharad in Kathak, and is brilliant,” 
says Madhuri.

Not only that, Madhuri is all praises for her co-judges Shashank Khaitan and choreographer Tushar Kalia. “They call themselves my bodyguards. But I am going to miss Karan (Johar) — his sense of humour and energy.

However, I have told Karan, ‘Shashank is your competition’. The two of us hit it off from the time we met. Sometimes one takes time to warm up, but Shashank is an effusive character and has a great sense of humour. Tushar was among the top three choreographers when I did Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa and it is great to have him as one of the judges,” she smiles.  

Ask the Dhak-Dhak actress about how Bollywood dancing has transformed over the years and she quips that with every new generation of choreographers, there has been a change. “Bollywood dancing has always been a melting pot of dances from all over the world — classical, semi-classical, folk from India, twist, there was salsa at one point. But now, it is all about hip hop, popping, locking, crunching and krumping. However, what is heartening is that many of those who appear on the show perform Indian classical dances,” she shares. In fact, the diva credits reality shows for giving dance more value and respectability. “People have a medium to show off their talent and we have a platform to discover them. They come from small centres and villages and mind you, they are all learning from the internet and doing an excellent job. Today, dance is placed on a different platform because of the shaadis and functions where you need choreographers and dancers. It has become a lucrative profession,” she adds. 

Does she also see a lot of dance-based films being made now? “I did Dil Toh Pagal Hai, which was dance-based. Even in Hollywood a Step Up, Chicago or La La Land is made once in a while among so many other films. We have had ABCD and its sequel. So, one or two such movies have always been made. But Bollywood dancing is famous otherwise also — now even ice skaters are doing it and other international artistes are including it in their repertoire,” she says proudly.

Not just dance, Madhuri is happy with the kind of roles that are being written for women in films. “We are no longer seen just as victims or avengers — the stereotypes. Writers are seeing women as characters with intelligence, as cerebral people. Tumhari Sulu was a nice film, so was Mom and now Raazi,” she signs off.