HBD Madhuri Dixit: From getting trained in martial arts to having a splendid second inning in films

The eternal 'Dhak Dhak Girl' of Bollywood Madhuri Dixit celebrates her birthday today. She has been an icon, an inspiration, and a trendsetter for the young and old alike as well as for her colleagues and fellow co-stars. Her stardom in Bollywood defied all the patriarchal norms in the film industry as there was a time when she even got paid more than her male co-stars.

Her zest for giving 100% to work continues to date. And that is why she continues to be a superstar even today.

Practicing relentlessly for Ek Do Teen

Even though Madhuri Dixit made her debut in the film industry with Rajsri’s Abodh, N. Chandra’s Tezaab really helped her gain popularity. The “Ek Do Teen” dance number from the movie was a chartbuster and overnight escalated MD into clinching superstardom. She has been learning Kathak since the age of 3 years but even then there were several complicated steps in this dance that made even a legendary dancer like Birju Maharaj wonder how Madhuri pulled them off so elegantly on the screen.

Talking about the same, Saroj Khan, who was the choreographer of the song and later on gave many superhits with the Devdas actress said that Madhuri was very dedicated and disciplined and unrelentingly continued to practice dance steps till she was satisfied with her work. Even when Saroj Khan said she was doing very well, Madhuri continued to practice the steps for “Ek Do Teen” in a corner while Saroj Khan worked on other songs.

Madhuri Dixit learned martial arts for Gulab Gang

Madhuri left Bollywood at the peak of her career and married Doctor Sriram Nene. She stayed in Denver for 14 years, enjoyed motherhood and domestic life, and returned to Bollywood to start her second innings in the film industry.

Gulab Gang was one of the few movies that she did after her return. Importantly, the role demanded her to be physically extremely fit and had some serious action sequences. For that, the superstar had to train in rare forms of ancient martial arts like Shaolin Chin-na, Pekiti Tirsia, and Shaolin Kung Fu.

Kanishk Sharma who trained Madhuri in martial arts was surprised to see how effortlessly the actress pulled off those action sequences. He said that the Bollywood superstar practiced for hours before the actual shoot and her agility and timing while performing the action scenes were very impressive.