'I married a heart mender': Madhuri Dixit on getting married to Dr Nene

With movies like 'Dil', 'Tezaab', 'Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!', 'Dil To Pagal Hai' to her credit, Bollywood diva Madhuri Dixit has been at the top for ages. At the peak of her career, when she was one of the biggest stars, loved for her performances, dance, and unmatched screen presence, the actor shocked everyone by marrying Dr Shriram Nene, a cardiovascular surgeon from Los Angeles.

In a conversation with ANI, she got candid about getting married to a "heart mender" who had no preconceived notions about her stardom. The actor said marrying someone who saw her simply as a person and not a celebrity was really satisfying and reassuring.

Madhuri married Dr Nene on October 17, 1999. She relocated to the US and lived there for over a decade. The couple's first son, Arin, was born in 2003, and their second child, Ryan, was born in 2005.

She describes him simply as a "heart mender", adding that he was not aware of her stardom and craze in Bollywood as "He was born in London and when they were seven, they moved to the US, he used to come here (India) for vacations when he was little and once he was in like grade eight and all this, it was lesser and lesser slowly because then he was in college and, and Maharashtrians, they're not so much into movies. It's more about getting educated and having a good education. So he didn't watch (movies), and he didn't know Hindi. He knew Marathi because his grandparents didn't know English. So he had to talk to them in Marathi." She added, "So he's good with Marathi, but he didn't understand Hindi at that point. Now he does, but at that point. And so he didn't watch very many films," noting that he only watched Amitabh Bachchan starrer 'Amar Akbar Anthony'.

"He said the only film he had watched was Amar Akbar Anthony. So he knew, the only one he knew was Amitabh Bachchan," shared the 'Tezaab' actor.

Madhuri said that when they first met, his lack of awareness about her celebrity status felt "refreshing." "When I met him, it was like, 'Oh, what do you do?' And I work in films. 'Oh, very nice. ' And that's it. But he didn't know the impact, or who I was. So, I could meet him without him having any preconceived notions about me or how I should be. Because when people see my movies, they have some thoughts in their minds. She will be like this, or she will be like that...," said Madhuri.

She continued, "So I have my bad days, good days, everything. So when I met him, it was very refreshing to just vibe with someone on a very personal level; there was no filter of this, oh my God, she's a star. And there's nothing like that. It was like two people meeting anywhere in the world and, you know, just talking and getting to know each other. And it was, it was wonderful."

After marrying Dr Nene, the actor moved to the United States. She recalled living a quiet, ordinary life unnoticed.

"My neighbours were all Americans. They didn't know who I was," she said. "One day, my neighbour called to say she thought someone was casing our house because a car kept slowing down outside. I had to tell her, 'No, I'm an actress.' She was shocked, 'Oh my God, we didn't know we had a celebrity in the neighbourhood!'" Soon, her neighbours began requesting to watch her films. "One of them loved musicals. So he was like craving for more and more every time. So I used to give him DVDs of all my movies and different movies. And he was like, Oh, I need more. I need more. So it was great," she said.

Dixit eventually returned to India due to her professional commitments, and her parents, who were living with her, also wished to return home as they grew older.

The Bollywood diva made her acting debut with the 1984 film 'Abodh' opposite late Bengali actor Tapas Pal, who passed away in 2020. Madhuri received appreciation for her performance. However, she came into the limelight with the superhit film 'Tezaab' in 1988, and after that, there was no looking back for her. She went on to rule Bollywood with several hits one after another, such as 'Dil', 'Beta', 'Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!', 'Dil To Pagal Hai', 'Ram Lakhan', 'Parinda', 'Khalnayak', and many more.

Apart from her acting skills, Madhuri is also known for her outstanding dancing abilities. Due to her mesmerising moves, signature style and graceful expressions, she is often referred to as the "dancing queen of Bollywood." Madhuri was most recently seen in 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3', directed by Anees Bazmee. The film also featured Kartik Aaryan, Vidya Balan, Triptii Dimri, and Rajpal Yadav. She will next be seen in the thriller-drama series 'Mrs Deshpande'.