There’s
no fear of failure: Madhuri
Every time she comes to Mumbai, Madhuri finds the city more westernized.
Dec. 17, 2007
IST,IANS
You shouldered the entire film... almost the hero. But
heroine-centric films don't work.
There's no fear of failure in me. I'm just happy that something
different has been attempted in my comeback film. There's no hero
in the film. But I won't call myself the film's hero. I'm the
female protagonist.
The role in Aaja Nachle was written for you.
The thought made my legs shake, and not because I was dancing
(laughs).
The Madhuri mania lives.
That's because I've worked with terrific directors and choreographers
on good subjects. I remember when I met Aditya Chopra, my first
question to him was - do people still want to see me? He looked
at me very strangely and said, “Don't worry about that.”
And you get a vehicle in your new film where you dance
non-stop.
It isn't just about dance but the entire theatre culture and dance
is an integral part of it.
Did you keep your dancing going in the US?
No, where was the time? With two small kids it's very difficult.
Out of the five years I was away, I was pregnant for the most,
and then looking after my kids. So after Devdas, I hadn't danced
at all.
And yet you slip so easily into the dances of Aaja Nachle!
Can't help it. I don't know what it is. It just comes naturally
to me. Earlier, I had many of my best dances choreographed by
Saroj Khan. And she was the boss. I just listened to her when
she cracked the whip. In Aaja Nachle I was working with Vaibhavi
Merchant who's an ardent fan of mine. And she was quivering on
the first day. I had to call Vaibhavi aside and warn her we could
do no work if she was going to be nervous of me. So, earlier Sarojji
used to calm me down, this time I was calming my choreographer
down. I was very impressed by her.
The whole cast is your fan.
The feeling is mutual. All my co-stars - Vinay Pathak, Kunal Kapoor,
Konkona Sen Sharma and Irrfan Khan - are wonderful actors. I had
watched a bit of their work. Soon, we were laughing and having
a ball.
In your heyday, you were not very social? You were aloof
on the sets of Devdas.
I was never antisocial. With time, you change. I'm more relaxed
maybe. As for Devdas , there were just the three of us. In fact,
I only had Shah Rukh for company. But in Aaja Nachle , there were
so many actors shooting with me all the time. Such bright, inquisitive
and talkative youngsters!
The film is about the erosion of our tradition and culture.
As an NRI, does the issue bother you?
Every time I come to Mumbai, I find the city more westernised.
There's no harm in that. But why not imbibe the best of foreign
influences without losing our culture? In US, we see families
more Indian than in India. But there's hope yet. Aaja Nachle addresses
the question of tradition and modernity, but we aren't preaching.
