Mesmerising Madhuri !

(Birthday Wishes to Madhuri Dixit)

I was planning a post on Madhuri’s dances from Hindi films, ever since I started the 90s series on my blog. But couldn’t come around writing it actually. This year, after finishing the last post, I was wondering what next! I’m certainly forgetting something. Then suddenly I remembered it.

Madhuri Dixit is one of the most talented, most beautiful actresses of Hindi cinema. Not to forget she is a trained dancer too. She is equally proficient in Indian dances, western and contemporary dance forms. Owing to her down to earth attitude, she also has a girl next door image. Otherwise she is more known for glamorous avatar. As I grew up watching her films, I’ve observed that she was equally loved and liked by people of all age groups. Everyone is charmed by her mesmerizing smile.

Madhuri started her career with Rajshree production’s Abodh in 1984. After experiencing commercial failure, her breakthrough performance in Tezaab gathered acclaim and fame. Though she is remembered more for her vivacious dance with iconic dance steps, she played the character of Mohini with great conviction and expressing fine acting skills. In her later career as well, she was offered roles where she could well portray her dancing talent. But somewhere I think the fine actress in her couldn’t get challenging roles. Today while I’m celebrating her birthday remembering her dance numbers, I also chose the films where she had good roles too. And while discussing the dances, I’ll try to throw light on her roles as well. I won’t say she had good roles in all of the films on the list, but in the majority, she did play a different character.
After attaining immense popularity with the dance number of Tezaab, the choreographer, Saroj Khan also received Filmfare award for the best choreography in 1989. The award for best choreography started that year and Saroj Khan was the first to get it. The combination of Madhuri Dixit and Saroj Khan created successful collaboration and Saroj Khan won the award again for Dhak Dhak Karne Laga (Beta) and Choli Ke Peechhe Kya Hai (Khalnayak) and Dola Re Dola (Devdas). Madhuri’s dedication and hard work made it possible of course.

The song Dhak Dhak Karne Laga showed the sensuous side of Madhuri Dixit, who looked quite glamorous in the orange outfit. The song was so popular, it made people call her ‘Dhak Dhak Girl’. While she was a seductive dancer in Choli Ke Peechhe Kya Hai, her expressions were not vulgar. But I’m quite uncomfortable watching these songs with family, so I gave a skip.

In films like Hum Aapke Hai Kaun, Madhuri had her share of dance numbers. And we can see her homely appearance in these dances.

For a film like Dil To Pagal Hai, where she plays Pooja, a dancer, she had opportunities for exhibiting her dancing talent. She danced on the majority of the songs of the movie, Dil To Pagal Hai, my most favourite is Koi Ladki Hai. In a film like Mrityudand, she had no dance numbers, but had a strong character to portray. And she shone whenever she got to perform such roles.

She was a favourite with all the leading choreographers of Bollywood, right from Saroj Khan, and Prabhu Deva to Vaibhavi Merchant. Pandit Birju Maharaj also choreographed her for Devdas.
Her recent dance number, Ghagra, where Ranbir Kapoor shared the stage with her, is also a chartbuster.

So without further ado, let’s hit the list. Ten of my favourite dance songs by Madhuri Dixit.

1. Ek Do Teen Char Paanch – Tezaab (1988) Alka Yagnik / Laxmikant Pyarelal – Javed Akhtar
The song is now considered iconic. The dance steps are of course very good and Madhuri does full justice to it. The song became a huge hit of the year and Madhuri’s destiny changed overnight. She was a new dance icon in Bollywood. Actually no one was confident about the song. Only numbers in the entire mukhda! Oh! That was something new, and it sounded nonsense to many. Finally when the song was released and the audience actually watched it in the theater, it was an instant hit. It changed Madhuri’s life forever.
And as I said already her character in Tezaab wasn’t just a glamorous doll. Mohini was helpless, but she stuck to her decisions. She was rebellious and had answered back to her father whenever needed. The scenes between Madhuri and Anupam Kher are enough to judge how brilliant an actress she is! In all, the film boosted her career tremendously. And sort of endorsed her pairing with Anil Kapoor. They later had many films together, and though all of those films were not successful, their pair was indeed one of the most popular on-screen pairs of Bollywood.

2. Humko Aaj Kal Hai Intezar – Sailab (1989) Anupama Deshpande & Chorus / Bappi Lahiri – Javed Akhtar
This was again an award winning song. Saroj Khan hit a hat-trick with the song, in the Filmfare award for the best choreographer. Madhuri looks very beautiful and attractive in fisher women’s attire and typically Maharashtrian नथ. Her graceful movements and gorgeous looks win our hearts. Her facial expressions and अदाएं are fabulous too. It’s worth noting that the majority portion of the song is sung by chorus, while the main singer sings just the couplet, ‘हमको आज कल हैं इंतज़ार, कोई आए लेके प्यार ‘. The song was extremely popular on its release and is still considered among one of the top ten dance numbers by Madhuri Dixit. Madhuri played a doctor in the movie, but I hardly remember anything about her character. It’s time to watch it again.

3. Tamma Tamma Loge – Thanedar (1990) Bappi Lahiri & Anuradha Paudwal / Bappi Lahiri – Indeevar
Another of Madhuri’s popular dances. The iconic dance steps were choreographed by Saroj Khan. It is said that Sanjay Dutt, who found the dance steps very difficult, worked very hard before the final shoot. Still we can clearly see that Madhuri obviously and prominently performs very well. The chair sequence is also worth watching, and we can appreciate that it is shot in a single take. But I must also mention that apart from the catchy beats and dance steps, other aspects of the song like sets, costumes, jewelry, hairstyle are atrocious. Though the set was claimed to be very costly, it’s hardly impressive. I remember it exclusively for Madhuri’s excellent dance performance. In this film however I don’t think Madhuri had scope to act, though the movie was a superhit.

4. Chane Ke Khet Mein – Anjaam (1994) Poornima / Anand Milind – Sameer
This song was also choreographed by Saroj Khan and was very popular before the release of the movie. The iconic dance steps are still very popular and for me the song should find a place in Madhuri’s top ten dances.
Though the film had a different storyline and Madhuri had a challenging role, the film wasn’t very successful. She played an air hostess, who is not ready to marry Shah Rukh Khan because she loves someone else. Later the story takes a serious turn and the ending was somewhat shocking. But Madhuri played a very strong character, who takes revenge. It was her first time opposite Shah Rukh Khan, who again played a villain after the movie, Darr. Madhuri’s character had different shades from a loving girlfriend, a dedicated wife and a caring mother to a revengeful widow.

5. Mera Piya Ghar Aaya – Yaarana (1995) Kavita Krishnamurthy & Chorus / Anu Malik – Maya Govind
Another dance by Madhuri and Saroj Khan duo. The song attained heights of popularity and even fetched best playback singer award for Kavita Krishnamurthy. The song again has iconic dance steps which has become a symbol of the film. Though it was a woman oriented film, based on Sleeping With The Enemy, the film couldn’t make an impact, despite the immense popularity of the song. Madhuri’s character Lalita was well portrayed, but the overall story wasn’t very appealing, nothing new. The other songs of the movie were also average. The film is only remembered for Madhuri’s dance.

6. Ankhiyan Milaun Kabhi Ankhiyan Churaoon – Raja (1996) Alka Yagnik & Udit Narayan / Nadeem Shravan – Sameer
Oh boy! It’s the sixth song in a row choreographed by Saroj Khan. She had such a bonding with Madhuri Dixit, whatever they did together was a success. The song is particularly popular for Madhuri’s facial expressions, eye movements. The heavily infectious beats of the song make you dance anyway. And what nice choreography! Though Sanjay Kapoor wasn’t a dancer, he managed to pull it off. I noticed his actions for the first time, 😉 I otherwise only used to watch Madhuri’s dance. I must say Sanjay Kapoor has also done a good job.
Madhuri plays Madhu, a rich girl, who elopes with her lover. It was a regular melodrama with a typical story and wasn’t my favourite. The film was a superhit and received 11 nominations at the Filmfare awards, but won none. Madhuri however received best actress at the Screen awards.

7. Kay Sera Sera – Pukar (2000) Kavita Krishnamurthy, Shankar Mahadevan & Chorus / A R Rahman – Javed Akhtar
When the song was released, we all were awestruck by the dance steps. I was studying in the final year of MBBS and I obviously watched the film at the earliest opportunity. Madhuri worked very hard to match Prabhu Deva’s magnificent steps. It was her first dance with choreographer Prabhu Deva. She obviously was neck and neck with him. The steps were quirky, very rapid paced, a bit aggressive and no one had seen Madhuri dancing such steps. It was a huge hit. Just look how fabulous, accurate and gracefully precise her dance movements are!
She played Anjali, a childhood friend of Jai (Anil Kapoor), who secretly loves him. She is jealous when Jai chooses Pooja (Namrata Shirodkar) and her vengeance ruins Jai’s life. Madhuri excelled in a negative role and it was considered her career best performance. She excellently depicted a caring friend, a jealous and rejected lady, and an extremely remorseful woman. Anil Kapoor was at his best too, in fact he overshadowed Madhuri’s performance a bit. Enjoy the wonderful song!

8. Badi Mushkil Baba Badi Mushkil – Lajja (2001) Alka Yagnik / Anu Malik – Sameer
The song was choreographed by Ganesh Acharya, who got a nomination for the first time in an award function. Madhuri plays a stage actress and dancer in the movie. The song perhaps is not as popular as the other songs on the list, it’s my favourite. The song has good dance steps and see how gracefully and effortlessly Madhuri dances. Her sharp and accurate movements get highlighted when she is joined by Manisha Koirala, who just manages to pull through. The choreography is really very impressive and is refreshingly novel.
The woman oriented film had Madhuri Dixit in a supporting role, with Manisha Koirala as a protagonist. The film portrays Vaidehi’s (Manisha Koirala) journey and the women she meets. It tries to put forth a woman’s place in a male dominated society and how unfair our standards towards a woman are.The injustice a woman faces as a wife, as a daughter, as a mother at the hands of a rude society was well portrayed, and though the performances by the leading ladies were highly appreciated, the film saw commercial failure in India.

9. Kahe Chhed Chhed Mohe – Devdas (2002) Pandit Birju Maharaj, Kavita Krishnamurthy & Madhuri Dixit / Ismail Darbar – Pt Birju Maharaj
While Madhuri’s most popular dance number from Devdas would perhaps be Dola Re Dola, this classical Kathak dance is remembered for its delicate lyrics and excellent performance by Madhuri. She also recites a few lines with perfect expressions. Her facial expressions are superb, which is an important part of the Kathak dance. The movements are not fast, but have to be graceful and gentle. Being a trained Kathak dancer, Madhuri excelled this dance number under the choreography of Pandit Birju Maharaj, an ace Kathak dancer himself. It is said that he also wrote the song. The outfit that Madhuri wore in the dance was allegedly very heavy, but she danced with grace and ease. The ghagra and the jewelry both were heavy, yet Madhuri’s face doesn’t show slightest tinge of discomfort her expressions are spot on. She played Chandramukhi, the courtesan, and did offer a splendid performance. She was delightful in the other dances of the movie, and also acted well.

10. Aaja Nachle – Aaja Nachle (2007) Sunidhi Chauhan / Salim Sulaiman – Piyush Mishra
Though the film flopped at the box office, it wasn’t actually a bad film in my opinion. And Madhuri was fabulous, she got to play a dancer named Dia. She is on a mission to save her dance school in her village Shamli. The song was choreographed by Vaibhavi Merchant, who also was the main choreographer for Devdas. The dance steps are excellent and Madhuri looks energy personified. Her facial expressions and poise are mesmerizing. She looks great and dances amazingly. Enjoy the song.

Please add your favourite dance number by Madhuri Dixit.

Disclaimer –
Mehfil Mein Meri, claims no credit for any image, screenshots or songs posted on this site. Images on this blog are posted to make the text interesting. The images and screenshots are the copyright of their original owners. The song links are shared from YouTube, only for the listening convenience of music lovers. The copyright of these songs rests with the respective owners, producers and music companies.