Why did Madhuri Dixit marry a non-filmy guy?
I’d chuckled when Madhuri Dixit had married Dr Sriram Nene! We were told that the daaktar didn’t even know who Madhuri was! Having known the daughter of a Marathi Brahimin family over the years I could guess her concerns.
Stardust and Cine Blitz had written extensively about Madhuri’s love affair with Sanjay Dutt. When Sanju was arrested under TADA, Madhuri disassociated herself from him and I had been the first one to quote her. I could understand the desire of the middle class, respectable and law abiding girl to distance herself from the Naayak who had turned out to be a Khalnaayak.
Earlier, magazines had romantically linked her with Aamir Khan too. There would be other reported liaisons too – some true and some not so true!
An Indian or a Mumbaikar would have known about all that. Nene didn’t know. But life without being in the limelight is not easy for someone who has tasted the fruit called fame.
Madhuri returned to Mumbai after a long gap. The generation of journalists has changed and the public memory is notoriously short. The good daaktar has left his practice, flourishing or otherwise (remember its recession in USA) and has joined his biwi and bache bag and baggage and settled in Mumbai. The man who knew nothing about Madhuri’s films, leave aside Bollywood, interfered and even replaced her loyal star manager Rikku aka Rakesh Nath with a pr company.
Madhuri is not the only one. Actresses have often managed to get what they call ‘non-filmy’ husbands and have appeared a little ashamed of belonging to the industry.
In fact, Bollywood prides itself by keeping their kids away from the industry though all of them return to try their luck in Bollywood.
Ironically, along with this shame is an abnormal pride in belonging to industry. Who hasn’t heard nauseating statements like ‘I am a Kapoor!’ on the lips of Karisma and Kareena Kapoor?
I analyze this shame as well as abnormal pride with the same reasoning.
Girls from decent families were not allowed to work in films before the industry became respectable. The filmmakers had to settle for the kothewallis and prostitutes.
To return to stars and the people who don’t recognize them, I remember two incidents. JRD Tata was reported as not knowing Dilip Kumar. And Sumati Morarji, who knew Amitabh Bachchan through his mother Teji Bachchan is supposed to have asked him during Zanjeer days, “Beta, kya karte ho?”
“Ma’am, filmon mein acting karta hoon.” Amitabh answered patiently and politely. Sumati had never seen a Hindi film.
While these are genuine instances about people not recognizing film stars, there is an interesting incident involving Raaj Kumar. He noticed Zeenat Aman at a party much after she had done ‘Hare Raam Hare Krishna‘ and told her, “Kaafi khubsoorat hain aap. Filmon mein kaam kyon nahin kartein?”
Here is the punch line of incidents like this.
Yash Johar (father of Karan Johar) introduced me to Raaj Kunar at a function in Taj. Typically, he told Raaj Kumar who I was but didn’t feel the necessity to tell me who he was!
I asked Raaj Kumar, “And what do you do?”
Kumar glared at me. Few minutes later when the announcer called for Raaj Kumar to present an award to someone, Raaj Kumar wasn’t to be seen!
But why did Sachin Tendulkar marry Anjali when she knew nothing about him and cricket?
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