Madhuri Dixit: Life Is Beautiful

Madhuri Dixit knows how to humour both – the flashbulbs and her family. Here we try to crack what makes her a superstar, super wife and a super mom.
Q. Your regular day in Denver would include…
Preparing breakfast for my boys (Arin and Rayan), getting them dressed and dropping them off to school and later picking them up. In between, I finish off the groceries and run a couple of errands. After they come home, they have some snack, finish their homework and we are off for their activities. These include swimming and taekwondo. My husband and I join them too. It’s our family time together.
Q. How different is marriage from what it’s shown in films?
I don’t know whether it’s different. There are good, bad and average experiences. It differs from individual to individual. My experience has been lovely. With my husband (Dr Sriram Nene) I got to do so many things I’d never done before. We went mountain climbing, scuba diving and I even tried skiing. He’s a sporty person. We’ve shared many adventures together. As people, we’re similar and yet very different. We have the same values, in that we’re family-oriented. But where I’m chilled out, he’s always on the go. I can concentrate on one thing at a time. But he can multi-task.
Q. What’s the most romantic thing he’s done for you?
We had just got married. I didn’t know him too well then. That day we had got home some new furniture. Since I love doing the man’s job, I was fixing it. Since it also happened to be my birthday, I kept wondering whether he had forgotten it. I kept working for long and when I couldn’t hear him around, I went to look for him. That’s when I found he had whipped up dinner, laid a four-course meal on the table complete with lit candles. He then said, “Happy Birthday!” I told him I was sure he’d forgotten it. He said, “Do you think I want to get killed?”
Q. Do you have tiffs with Ram? Who makes up?
Which couple doesn’t have tiffs? It could be about anything. Mostly, it’s about the kids’ homework. He tells me ‘just chill’. Also he’s a gadget freak. He collects a lot of them and I tell him why the need to have so many. We have no ego between us. If I am wrong I make up. If he’s wrong, he does.
Q. What impressed you about your most ardent fan, the legendary M F Hussain?
His love for life! He lives as though there’s no tomorrow. I remember something about him, which I identified very closely with. I once told him, “Hussain, stop painting for a while. Why don’t you just relax and have a cup of tea?” He replied, “You are punishing me. When I paint, I relax.” I thought that was so true. He’s happiest when he’s painting. It’s spiritual for him. Just the way I love it when I dance. That’s spiritual for me.
Q. What according to you makes the three Khans – Aamir, Salman and Shah Rukh special?
Aamir is like me in a certain way. He does what he believes in. If he decides not to attend any award function he stands by it. He’s got integrity. Salman loves to touch lives and his charity foundation Being Human speaks of that. He was like a kid on the sets of ‘HAHK’ and it’s nice to see this side of him. SRK is self-made. He was an outsider and had no film connections. Once he told me, “I’m going to be a producer.” He worked towards his goal. He’s earned every bit of his money on his own steam. He has never harmed anyone.
Q. Do you fear aging? Your take on plastic surgery…
I don’t fear aging. But that doesn’t mean I’ll let myself go. I’ll do everything I can to keep myself fit, look good and be presentable. I don’t have anything against plastic surgery. It’s been a boon to many. Even where Hollywood actors are concerned, if there was no plastic surgery, we’d have missed out on great talent just because of some minor flaw on the face.
Q. Don’t you wish for a daughter, a little Madhuri?
I am happy in my space right now. It could have been a boy and a girl. But I have two boys and I love them.