‘Being A Ghost Was Very Different’

‘Something
exciting
is
going
to
happen
very
soon.’

With
more
and
more
women
taking
up
different
jobs
in
the
industry
and
even
turning
producers,
Madhuri
Dixit
Nene
feels
a
lot
has
changed
in
Bollywood
for
the
better
since
the
’80s
and
’90s.

“Women
have
come
a
long
way,
it’s
always
baby
steps,”
says
the
actor,
who
made
her
debut
with

Abodh
in
1984.

“When
I
used
to
do
work
in
the
’80s
and
’90s,
the
only
women
on
set
would
be
me,
my
co-actors
who
were
women
or
the
hairdressers.

“Today,
when
I
walk
in
on
a
set
—
from
the
DOP
(Director
of
Photography)
to
the
ADs
(Assistant
Directors),
writers
and
action
masters
—
there
are
women
everywhere.
I
couldn’t
have
imagined
they
would
be
in
the
field,
which
is
amazing,”
she
added.

Madhuri
said
women
have
moved
from
being
considered
as
mere
‘eye
candy’
to
performing
varied
roles.

“We
are
seeing
women
in
action
roles,
which
is
amazing.
Like
in

Gulaab
Gang
I
did
my
action
role,
and
that
film
was
a
very
women-centric
kind
of
movie.

“But
we
need
to
make
more
commercial
kinds
of
movies,
which
are
women-centric.
It
will
happen
slowly.

“There
are
a
lot
of
actors,
like
women,
who
are
turning
producers
if
they
want
to
make
their
kind
of
movies,
which
is
also
amazing,
and
more
power
to
them,”
she
added.

In
recent
years,
Alia
Bhatt,
Kriti
Sanon
and
Kangana
Ranaut
have
turned
to
production.

Despite
the
shift,
Madhuri
said
the
change
won’t
happen
overnight.

“Even
if
it’s
here
or
abroad
or
anywhere,
to
a
certain
extent,
it’s
a
man’s
world.
It
will
take
some
time
to
change
that
and
we
are
getting
there,”
she
says.

Madhuri
was
recently
seen
in

Bhool
Bhulaiyaa
3.

The
actor,
57,
said
she
is
actively
seeking
new
and
exciting
roles
that
challenge
her.

“Being
a
ghost
(in

Bhool
Bhulaiyaa
3)
was
very
different.
I’m
still
looking
at
very
different
roles,
and
something
exciting
is
going
to
happen
very
soon,”
she
said.

Madhuri
considers

Tezaab
her
first
big
turning
point
in
cinema.

The
N
Chandra-directed
movie,
also
starring
Anil
Kapoor
and
Anupam
Kher,
ran
in
cinemas
for
almost
50
weeks.

“The
first
big
turning
point
for
me
was

Tezaab.
I
started
getting
recognised
after
that
movie,
and
then
other
(films)
followed,
like

Dil,
Beta,
Raja
and

Kalnayak.
I
felt,
‘Oh
my
God,
people
think
I’m
a
star’.

“It
was
a
difficult
role
and
N
Chandra
extracted
such
a
good
performance
from
me.”

She
considers
the
1992
hit

Beta,
directed
by
Indra
Kumar,
another
turning
point
in
her
career.
That
also
starred
Anil
Kapoor.

The
actor
said
the
success
of

Beta
gave
her
the
opportunity
to
be
part
of
women-centric
dramas
like

Mrityudand
and

Pukar.

“There
was
no
looking
back,
I
got
good
opportunities
to
work
with
good
directors
and
did
films
like

Pukar,
which
were
very
different
from
what
I
did
on
screen,
whether
it
was

Mrityudand,
Prahaar;
these
were
more
realistic
films.
I
thoroughly
enjoyed

Dil
Toh
Pagal
Hai.
I’m
lucky
that
I’m
in
a
profession,
which
I
love.”