Dear Pooja

I look at this picture and my mind rewinds to year 1997 in Seychelles. The door of your hotel room was ajar and I walked inside to find you searching for a clean shirt bending over multiple suitcases. You have not found time to organize your laundry and are wondering what to wear when the reception calls to say that everyone is waiting for you. You shut the suitcases and charge towards the elevator.

An hour later, we are parked by the poolside and you tell me your story of why you turned a producer. You said you had been flirting with the idea for a while but did not muster courage to commit and then dad/ Mahesh Bhatt explained that the only way to make films you believe in, is by turning filmmaker yourself. Soon you found a script you believed in and you announced Pooja Bhatt Productions.

You said the first lesson you learnt as a producer is to only green light the best script, the second, is to remain convinced of your choice till the end. You chose Tamanna as your debut production knowing it will not be a commercial grosser but you wantedbegin small and artistic and the family supported your decision.

To shoot at Seychelles was your chachu Mukesh Bhatt’s idea, carting three units Mahesh Bhatt’s Papa Kahte Hain, Vikram Bhatt’s Fareb and your Tamanna together at the island was a business proposal and also bonding time for everyone together post shooting.

It was your debut film but you were so peaceful, less anxious, more contained, it was probably the effect of the island. I noticed that now you enjoyed your own company and mentioned it to your dad, Mahesh Bhatt at dinner. He smiled, said, now you are cooked with pain. Perhaps you are, you have keen observations on life now, of relationships, you desire to pause and introspect, promise to return to Seychelles from time to time because life in Bombay is killing the soul.That was in 1997 I’m curious to ask, when was it last that you returned to Seychelles Pooja Bhatt?#PoojaBhatt # MaheshBhatt #MukeshBhatt #VikramBhatt

09.06.2020

Dear Basuda,
I met you for the first time when I visited your set of Madhu Malti to interview Sachin and Sarika, shooting at a remote college in Andheri. I think this was soon after the release of Geet Gata Chal. There was a major electricity breakdown on location that afternoon and all of us – you, Sachin, Sarika and me were parked in the lawn outside chatting leisurely.

Since all of us were young with plenty of time on hand and no distractions like mobiles, the bonds were instant and we kept meeting again and again.

Madhu Malti never got released and Sachin-Sarika never worked together again, but you did another film with Sarika soon, Griha Pravesh (1979)  and I often hung around on your sets. Shabana Azmi had around that time, signed Sparsh with Naseerudin Shah to be directed by Sai Paranjpye and produced by you. Your wife Rinki Bhattacharya was doing costumes for Shabana and decided to dress her in her own sarees and Shabana was game for it. The winter jackets draped with exquisite shawls however was Shabana’s idea, she was in double mind whether to wear a French bun or a braid for the character and I lured her towards the braid because I felt the bun would look too sophisticated. (That was the beginning of my career as a costume designer with Azmi but that’s another story, so another time).A decade or more went by, now Sarika lived in Madras but every time she was in Bombay, she visited you at your beautiful home and I often accompanied her. It was during one such meeting over fragrant tea, you narrated Sarika and me the story of Aastha, and both of us were alarmed! That’s when you told us the backstory, a true incident where you saw a homemaker accompanied by her little son in a show shop. The little boy tried a pair but on reading the price tag the mother left the shop without purchase. Another woman, at the same shop, observed this and handed her a box of shoes outside. The child was overjoyed and the mother unwittingly gave into temptation. Nobody expected Rekha to agree to the role but she did and made her character unforgettable. You were happy with the response to the film and a few months later, died peacefully.

Dear Basuda,

Date – June 8th, 2020

On 4 June amidst escalating fear of approaching cyclone and escalating Corona,you quietly made your exit without the slightest fuss,just like all your characters in your films.By the time we emerged from our fears we discovered that the marvelous director Sara Aaakash was gone.
The headline on the news channel ‘Basu Chatterjee no more’filled me with sadness. Your contribution in our lives over the last four decades cannot be summarized in a column.Nobody connected with us,the middle class as you did.In a quiet corner of our memories,we still retain the innocence of Piya Ka Ghar, the fragrance of Rajnigandha, the music of Chitchor & the wisdom of Swami.
There was acceptance in Khatta Meeth,aspirations in Manzil, conflict in Ratan Deep, endurance in Apne Paraye, struggle in Jeena Yahan, mischief in Shaukeen,anger in Ek Ruka Hua Faisla and celebration in Chameli Ki Shaadi.
Your detractors said that you stopped connecting with your audience in your later films, I feel you were ill-adjusted with the changing trends,which can & does happen to the best of filmmakers,what is important is that you tried to stay relevant without excuses of age.
I have been on your sets & watched you brief Zarina Wahab & Shabana Azmi before a scene,quiet,affectionate & sometimes reprimanding.
You disapproved of makeup, of actors taking any liberties in costume or hair that was out of character & which is why you shot the best of your songs in the background.You said to me in an interview ‘Normal people don’t sing and dance when they are happy or sad so why must actors do it unless the subject demands it’.
In the 90s I was on the Advisory Panel of the Central Board of Film Certificate,the same time as you & we shared many committees together.You were against censorship of any kind & solely responsible for Deepa Mehta’s Fire India’s first lesbian film in the year 1996 to be cleared & you did not change your stand even after laathi charges at cinema halls.
Your films reflected values,the common man enriched from your stories but when your time was up,you exited quietly, without a song or a dance just like your characters.

Madhuri Dixit looks out of the window staring at the clouds. There is a quietude about her and I’m surprised when she elaborates on Dr Nene on her own. ‘Both of us like outdoor sports and we recently enrolled in an elementary class for Skiing. He doesn’t need coaching but joined only to give me company. The instructor was amused! I kept falling on the snow again and again but learnt to fall without hurting myself and rise on my own again. It’s a great lesson and applies to life as well. My parents raised us to give our best shot in whatever we do.  I was focused in studies, in dance and later in films. In the beginning/ Abodh they said I was too spontaneous, then they said I was too simple/ Prem Pratigyaa but success adds glamour/ Khalnayak and soon my detractors were silenced’.

Main stream cinema will forever remember Madhur Dixit pre and post Hum Aap Ke Hain Kaun because no other heroine has come close to her phenomenal success. Currently signed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali  to play Chandramukhi in Devdas, Madhuri says she  loved Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and is privileged to be cast in the classic, privileged to be a part of MF Hussain’s Gajagamini and looks forward to be paired with Salman and Shah Rukh Khan in Bokadia’s next but is not signing anymore films currently because she is also committed to live shows ‘and in between, whatever time I get I want to run home to Los Angeles’.  I notice that she refers to LA as her home and remind her of the time when every man she was spotted with was a potential suitable boy to which she adds, ‘Today, every man I’m spotted with is assumed to be Dr Nene’.Concluded

Our flight is going round and round unable to get clearance for landing and passengers are getting restless. Not me because I still have a lot of questions for the new bride, ask her if she has obtained a driving license because surviving without it in America is impossible. Madhuri makes a sad face, ‘I can drive but not the left-hand driving and I’m not familiar with the roads either’. Have you become computer savvy? Madhuri shakes her head again, ‘I can send emails but have to learn beyond that’. So what’s a day like in your new life? She blushes, says, ‘Well, till he leaves for work, I hover around my husband, after he leaves, I hang loose -watch TV, read, exercise, have a leisurely shower, which I have been denied all my life, I have realized I quite enjoy being myself’.

And what happens when the husband gets back from work? ‘We usually have a plan in place, go out for a meal/sight-seeing or just a drive. If he’s tired, we stay at home and watch TV. Currently, my old commitments bring me to India frequently and let me tell you that pulling away from each other is getting more and more difficult each time’. It is not often that Madhuri makes candid confessions. I have never seen her so romantic and tease her about it. She blushes again, ‘You are prodding me so I am dropping my guards, when you live far away and have just each other for company we want to cram in as much as we can. The coming year will be hectic for him as he will be spending almost 10 hours at the hospital every day, so I guess we want to spend as much time as we can together’.

To be continued…

The airhostess on the flight is giving Madhuri Dixit more attention than necessary and she is embarrassed by the fuss. She smiles at a little child seeking her autograph and I ask her how she how she deals with the constant spotlight on her. ‘It is uncomfortable because people assume that actors are uninhibited just because we sing and dance on the screen, but I’m shy, I take time to open up and make friends.’

Will you be retaining your name as Madhuri Dixit on screen or change it to Madhuri Nene? ‘Stars are identified by their original names and even after marriage their fans remember them by the old surname, which is understandable.  What irritates me is when they send me an invite addressed Mrs Dixit, next time they do that, I’ll send my mother for the event. Some of them address you as Madhuri Dixit Nene, ‘That’s better, more and more women, even those not in limelight, prefer retaining their maiden name and adding the new surname, it is less complicated this way’.

Why do you think the media is so curious about Dr. Nene? Madhuri shrugs her shoulders, ‘when I was not married, they wanted to know when I will be married, when I did, they wanted to know why I chose a doctor and not a film man and finally, how can I leave films and settle in Los Angeles. First, I’m not quitting movies, I’m taking a break, and second, it is my life and my choice. I like being in LA, like making bed and breakfast for my husband and even though I have never cooked in my life earlier, the first time I tossed scrambled eggs it was perfect! We have simple food habits and mostly eat vegetarian — aloo methi, dal, roti, sabzi topped with raita, papad and pickle and we are happy’.

To be continued…

Next morning, most of them leave by the morning flight only Madhuri Dixit is departing by the afternoon flight. Her manager Rakesh Nath has booked me on the same flight, so that I can chat with her on the journey back home. At the airport, I notice that while women openly display affection towards her, men are restrained. Her male colleagues maintained a distance at the concert as well and I wonder if it has got to do with her personality or her success. informal. I ask her if she senses discomfort in them taking instructions from her and Madhuri looks surprised, ‘I don’t think so because when we are doing a show, all of us work as a family, we spend so much time together travelling and later during rehearsals together that ego is the last thing on our minds’.

She is naturally uncomplicated and intuitively mature, has always been, even when she was a rank newcomer. In her long career of many highs and few lows, she never gave boastful interviews, was never undignified in conduct. Her heroes never accused her of stealing scenes and her filmmakers never complained against her work.

Success never went to her head and she never flaunted her jubilees like other artists. When she got married, she took a break but she made frequent trips to India to honour all her commitments. Her life was transforming and unknowingly, Madhuri was changing too. Those close to her made observations and strangers asked her question point blank. When I broach the topic Madhuri flashes her famous smile and says, ‘You know everybody keeps asking me that but I feel the same person. There is a possibility that the change is in them, in their perception of me. The only difference I see in myself today is that I’m more receptive now because I’m not racing against time’.

To be continued…#MadhuriDixit #RakeshNath #ReshmaShetty #Bollywood #DhakDhak # EkDoTeen

Watching Madhuri Dixit sing her debut album Candle on all the channels my mind rewinds to a shooting of Ram Lakhan in Ooty where Madhuri sang Number 54 at a party hosted by filmmaker Subhash Ghai. Dixit was a revelation and in years to come, one discovered many more talents associated with the actor.

A feisty star, Dixit stood her ground while touring with Anil Kapoor for a live show in the US and a few years later, was ready to present her own show, Madhuri Dixit Live held in Kolkatta sometime in the 90s. The team referred to her as MD and the lady boss exhibited all qualities of leadership.

I can never forget that hot afternoon at Netaji Subhash Chandra Stadium when Dixit sat with a sun cap on her head, monitoring rehearsals of all the artistes. Sanjay Kapoor had just finished his revision and Rani Mukherjee was getting ready to start. Anchors for the evening, Ashutosh Rana and Shilpa Shirodkar were learning their lines and music-director Adesh Shrivastav preoccupied with his team.

 At 6.00 pm Madhuri is the first to come down in the lobby and drive to the stadium. There are big banners of ‘Madhuri Dixit Nite’ put up all over the city right up to the venue and the arrangements are near perfect. Special security guards are appointed for every artiste who lead them to their makeup rooms. In a separate section reserved for the singers, Alka Yagnik, Sukhwinder Singh and Vinod Rathod are relishing a cup of tea together. They appear cheerful but it is a façade, the anxiety before the concert.

The show begins on time, Sanjay Kapoor and Rani Mukherjee dance to their film hits and in the second half queen Dixit rules the stage. Th finale, which is a medley of Madhuri hits gets the audience so excited that they break barricades and land up in the VIP area. There is complete chaos but somehow the artistes are rescued and escorted to their vehicles.Back to the hotel, one expects Madhuri Dixit to be drained after an energetic dance but she is in terrific spirits. Flooded with compliments from her colleagues and the sponsors, it is time for celebrations with her girl gang comprising Shilpa Shirodkar, Rani Mukherjee and a few more like me! The night is young and we cannot stop laughing until Snehlata Dixit, Madhuri’s mother affectionately packs us off to our respective rooms.

To be continued…