ABODH: It will always be one of my favourite films because it was my first film. I remember Tapas Paul, my first ever co-star. What’s he doing now? (After t2 told her that Tapas was now an MLA) He’s gone into politics now?!? Oh, my God! He was such a wonderful guy to work with. He didn’t know a word of Hindi (laughs out loud)! We used to tease him so much. We used to make him say Ghoda sadak pe dhadak dhadak daudta hai... I have very fond memories of Abodh because that introduced me to movies.

TEZAAB: It has to be there because it was my first big hit. Ek do teen became so popular that everywhere I went people would want me to dance to that song. Tezaab was also special as it was with Anil (Kapoor) who was a big star at that time. I did Ram Lakhan with him around that time and that too was very successful. It was with Subhashji (Ghai), the first showman of that time.

DIL: It allowed me to be my age. All the films that I have been doing before that were characters much older than my age. I played a teenager in the film who goes to college. Then it was my first film with Aamir and there were the two of us on the sets driving Indu (director Indra Kumar) crazy. All the pranks we used to do... We used to be laughing before a scene where we were supposed to be crying. We had great fun while making the film and we formed a great team — Induji, Aamir, Baba Azmi the cameraman and me. We used to call ourselves the Chandal Chowki.

BETA: It was again with Indu and Baba but this one was with Anil. He was very good in the movie. And all my scenes with Aroona Irani... I really enjoyed doing them. Because she is a very good actress and it was like a challenge for me to do all those scenes with her. She was an established powerhouse of an actress and I was like: I have to do this right.

HUM AAPKE HAIN KOUN..!: The film set so many records of sorts. I remember when Soorajji came to meet me and told me that he’s made Maine Pyar Kiya with Salman Khan and Bhagyashree. It was then I realised that this man was the same guy who used to be an assistant on the sets of Abodh. And I was like how could he be the same shy boy standing in the corner and writing down the continuity in the shots. I was very impressed and then he gave me the narration of the script. He played me the songs he had already recorded for the film and the ones he didn’t he sang those for me. I was sure that whether the film did well or not this guy would make a film with passion. I said, of course I would do your film. I loved his attitude throughout the making of the film. There were lots of mixed reviews to the film, even one week after the film was released. People said there were too many songs and it was like a shaadi. And imagine how the film set a trend. All movies after that had elaborate shaadi scenes. We felt very proud that we created a new trend in Indian cinema.

MRITYUDAND: I really enjoyed doing that film. Prakash Jha came to me and said ‘I have got something very different for you to do’. I just loved the character of Ketaki. We went to Wai (not too far from Mumbai) and we used to shoot there during all odd hours. I remember it was the first time I saw panthers while coming back through the mountains.

DIL TO PAGAL HAI: It was my first film with Yashji (Chopra). Of course I had worked with Shah Rukh before. I had done Anjaam and Koyla with him. In those two films we were always beating each other up and we would be dirty all the time, covered with muck and blood. And we always used to joke that why can’t we do a film which is “neat and clean” and very romantic? Why are we always running and smashing our faces? And then Dil To Pagal Hai happened. We were like ‘Yeah! At last we are doing a saaf-sutra film’. It was really nice. Karisma (Kapoor) was also there in the movie and we had this really sexy dance-off. Shah Rukh is a wonderful co-star. He is very chivalrous. He will always take care of his heroines. He was like: ‘You first sit in the car and then I will sit’. He had a lovely sense of humour.

PUKAR: It was another film I was very proud of because I did a very different role. But what I remember the most is the K sera sera dance I did with Prabhudeva. I was terrified at the thought of him choreographing me. But he tried to make me relax. He said that there was just one difficult step and the rest was easy. And he would keep saying that before every step and I soon realised that the whole dance was very difficult and he was getting it done like that! But it was really a great song in the end.

DEVDAS: It was a wonderful experience. Sanjay (Leela Bhansali) and I have a long history. He wanted me to do Khamoshi. I couldn’t do it because I had to be in South Africa and I couldn’t give him the dates. He went ahead and made Khamoshi and then Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. It was for Devdas that he approached me again. And this time I just went abroad and got married (laughs)... without anyone knowing. Then I came back and there was this whole thing hanging on my head that I have to announce that I am married. I didn’t want to keep it a secret. Every year the media used to get me married to someone or the other and they would take names of people I hadn’t even heard of. So I wanted to announce it. I told Sanjay that this has happened and if you do not want to take me in the film that’s fine. You know how it was about married actresses not being liked.... He was in shock and he asked me for two days to think. He came back to me and said he could not imagine anybody else as Chandramukhi.... It was wonderful, the way he shot the movie. The bigness, the richness, the aura... without losing the content. That was his vision entirely. Then I danced with Birju Maharajji and Maar daala with Saroj Khan. I felt like a queen walking into a mahal every day for shooting.

Pratim D. Gupta
(Which is your favourite Madhuri Dixit film? Tell t2@abpmail.com)