Indra Kumar sat for an interview where he addressed casting Madhuri Dixit in his films when she was being called a 'jinxed actor'.
Madhuri Dixit is known as the epitome of grace and beauty in the entertainment industry. The actress ruled Bollywood in the 1990s with her acting skills, impressive dance, and style. She has been lauded for single-handedly paralleling the male-dominated industry by leading star vehicles with her male contemporaries in the 90s. However, there was a time when filmmakers hesitated to cast the actress.
Madhuri Dixit, despite being one of the most talented actresses in Bollywood, hasn't had the easiest journey in the entertainment industry. The actress had done back-to-back commercially unsuccessful films in the late '80s, which affected filmmakers' trust in her. However, she didn't give up and came back stronger with the action drama, Tezaab in 1988. Madhuri established herself as a phenomenal actress with Indra Kumar's 1990 film, Dil and 1992 film, Beta. The actress continued to give spectacular performances with Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! in 1994 and Dil To Pagal Hai in 1997.
Filmmaker, Indra Kumar sat for a candid conversation with Siddharth Kannan on his YouTube channel. During the conversation, the director shared why he picked Madhuri Dixit for his films Dil and Beta despite the actress being labelled as the 'jinxed girl' in the late '80s. He revealed that no director was willing to cast Madhuri at that point in time. He elaborated on his decision and was quoted saying:
"Aamir only had one hit film, Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, at that time, and Madhuri had not given even a single hit film. She was called 'jinxed'. So, when I signed her up for Dil with Aamir Khan, it was still fine, but when I signed her up for Beta too, everyone said, 'Paagal hogaya hai tu, iski koi film nahi chal rahi.'"
In the same conversation, Indra Kumar revealed that even after the interview, which labelled Madhuri Dixit as the 'jinxed girl' came out, he started working on the films with her. He shared that there was something about Madhuri that spoke to him, so he felt like he had to give her a chance. He stated:
"By then, an interview had come out, saying, 'Madhuri is a jinxed girl. Whichever film she is in, it turns out to be a flop.' Still, I started working on both Dil and Beta in 1988 with Madhuri. I had confidence in her. There was something in my heart which said, 'Yaar, isme baat hai, kuch hai isme.'"
Indra Kumar also addressed how Madhuri Dixit was labelled 'flop' and how that tag faded away after she delivered two smashing hits, Tezaab and Ram Lakhan. He revealed that the success of the two films changed distributors' impression of Madhuri. He added that by the time his first project with Madhuri was released, she was already a superstar. He stated:
"After that, I was also lucky. I started the film in October, Tezaab was released in December 1988, and in January 1989, Ram Lakhan was released. Madhuri ka jo 'bechaari flop' wala impression tha distributors ka vo change hogaya. My next schedule was directly after six months from October, when Madhuri came there, she was already a superstar. She was down to earth on her first day, after becoming a star, and she still is currently, there is no change."
What are your thoughts on Indra Kumar's revelation about Madhuri Dixit?
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