COVER STORY HINDI FILM INDUSTRY THE MADHURI MAGIC By ANUPAMA CHANDRA Khalnayak, makes what is now a universal assessment of her: "N,o two ways about it—she is Number One." VERYBODY'S dancing to it, everyone's watching it on the- (_ Last week, in the 40 degrees Celsius temperature of an video or the big screen. No party is complete without it, indoor Film City set, a middle-aged technician watching E no disco worth visiting if it doesn't play the Choli ke Madhuri playing a scene in the Rs 5-crore, special-effects peechhe number at least five times an evening. Seldom has a fantasy Rajkumar, took in her too-tight-to-breathe-in blood song—and the screen singer—captured the public mood and red strapless gown, the heavily lashed eyes, the full lips, and imagination with such devastating effect. remarked: "W«/7, kya namak hai." If Madhuri Dixit has got the entire country swaying to the Namak. Salt. Sex. Style. Oomph. Take your pick. In Choli beat, she also has the film industry dancing to her tune. Bollywood's esoteric vernacular, namak could mean any of In the industry, they now speak of Madhuri strictly in those things. Or all of them. superlatives. "She's a 10," says Beta producer Ashok Thakeria. "The Madhuri craze is fantastic," says Vinod Doshi who financed Dil and Beta. "She is a great star." Tolu Bajaj, who distributed her starrers Tezaab, Ram Lakhan, Beta and 124 INDIA TODAY » SEPTEMBER 1 5. 199 ! What is obvious is that in an industry where the battle for the kept on stand-by in case the crowds went berserk. top is conducted on the level of a blood sport, she has namak eno- In the first week after its release, Khalnayak grossed'approxi- ugh to be a phenomenon. Sridevi charges more than Madhuri. mately Rs 4.5 crore. An initial draw which bettered that of any But there is no doubt who is Number One. Certainly not after the top Amitabh starrer. Many now concede, however, that stunning success of her latest release, Khalnayak, and the waves Subhash Ghai's saga of a terrorist redeemed by love is a hit largely caused by Madhuri's sensual, pulse-pounding Choli number. because of Choli. The bawdy, bouncy song has been mired in Wearing a backless embroidered orange choli. she grinds controversy for months. Though overly concerned citizens like and thrusts in her trademark dhak dhak style. The whistles Delhi lawyer R.P. Chugh are yelling obscene, the censors, courts grow deafening when she stares into the camera, looks at and, evidently, the people are convinced by Madhuri's answer every man in the dark, and promises him her heart—and that the only thing heaving under her blouse is her dil. They are much more. In one Bangalore theatre, the police were coming in droves to see her perform the song whose soundtrack has sold over 20 lakh copies. "The song is sensational," says actor Anil Kapoor, and Madhuri is "just mind-blowing". N tinseltown, hype is king. Or queen, in this case. But even discounting Ithat, the Madhuri magic is currently working overtime. Around Rs 12 crore rides on the 25-plus heroine's slender 5-ft, 4-inch frame. With reputed names like Sooraj Barjatya, Indra Kumar and Rahul Rawail directing her, she's clearly no seven-day wonder either. Advertisers are offering her anywhere up to Rs 60 lakh for product endorse- ments. She gets two to three acting offers a day, approximately 2,000 fan letters a week and if you are planning a potboiler with a combination of action, oomph and Bollywood shuffle, you can't do it without Madhuri Dixit. But you'll have to wait till October '95—she doesn't have any dates free until then. Magazines that once labelled her "Madhuri Jinx-it" are now actively touting her as number one. Movie, which had asked, "Can Madhuri over- throw Sridevi?" in a March '89 cover story shortly after the release of her tremendously successful Ram Lakhan opposite Anil Kapoor, answered the question in its June '93 opinion poll. Over 10,000 readers—or 39 per cent of those who responded—said Madhuri was their favourite actress. Suddenly, everyone's begun to take notice of her. Britain's Sunday Telegraph's Foreign Bodies column re- cently called her "India's sexiest film star". The Times of London, reporting on the heated Choli debate, called her the country's most glamorous actress. At Rs 40 lakh a movie. Sridevi remains the higher paid. Madhuri gets between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 35 lakh, roughly the same as Jackie Shroff but substantially higher than other stars like Salman Khan. Mukul Anand, who directed her in Mahasangram in 1990, admits that her appeal is on par with that of the heroes. Juhi Chawla, (From extreme left) Ek, do, teen; Dhak dhak; and Choli ki> peechhe: numbers that revved her up into superdrive SKI'TFMBER 1i 125 MADHURI'S HIT PARADE With Sanjay Dutt in Saajan (left) and Aamir Khan in Dil: equal appeal NAME OF FILM BOX-OFFICE GROSS Tezaab (November '88) Rs 10 crore Ram Lakhan (January '89) Rs 11 crore dignified and sublime. "She's not a girl who knows she is sexy," says dance director Tridev (July '89) Rs 5.5 crore Saroj Khan, who has choreographed her in DUQune '90) Rs 12 crore several song sequences. "She has a com- Saajan (August '91) Rs 7.5 crore bination of innocence and sex appeal." Beta (April '92) Rs 14 crore Moreover, she may not be a Meryl Khalnayak (August '93) Rs 8.5 crore* Streep, but she can act. Rahul Rawail, who is directing her in the female revenge She's possibly the only heroine who has had a major hit every year drama. Anjaani, says Madhuri has matured since 1988. into a "fine actress". Producer Rajkumar Barjatya adds that Madhuri's acting prow- (h'igures ;ire approximate all-India grosses) ess reminds him of Meena Kumari. What another rising star, gets Rs 20 lakh but will need two Be to-sized FirozeRangoonwalla, chronicler of Indian cinema, finds remark- hits to challenge Madhuri's superstar status. able about Madhuri is her ability to recycle images of various So what is the Madhuri phenomenon all about? It's about heroines from the past. Besides, the fact that she isn't westernised dancing, for one. No other actress can match her suggestive, (read barely clad) or southernised (read no bulky thighs), says come-hither mobility. In the profusion of bare midriffs and Rangoonwalla, will take her far. It already has. wiggling hips, her sexuality stands apart, marked by an apparent Since her Ek, do, teen sensation in the 1988 golden jubilee hit innocence. Her expressive eyes retain a child-like look even as the Tezaab, Madhuri has followed up with seven blockbusters (see breasts heave and the pelvis thrusts. Her slim body lends grace to chart), including Dil and Beta which won her Filmfare awards for the most blatant and suggestive choreography. She doesn't ooze best actress. Over 15 per cent of her Hindi films have been golden sex; only suggests it. With no overt come-on, she is the ultimate jubilee hits. Compare this to the Sridevi saga. She last had a hit Indian male fantasy—a desi, middle class Madonna. with Chandni. Since then, she has landed five major flops in succession, including Roop ki Rani Choron ka Raja. Sridevi's slide ADHURI'S girl-next-door appeal makes her an accessi- has paralleled Madhuri's rise. ble fantasy. Unlike Sridevi, who is perfect enough to be And Bollywood's money men are delighted. While tradi- Mplastic, Madhuri retains an essential vulnerability. Her tional trade wisdom has it that no heroine can command an sexuality is never threatening. The unaggressive glamour speaks initial—moviespeak for drawing power through the opening to the front-bencher as effectively as to anyone else. As producer week—or sell a film solo, financiers and distributors like Ramesh Boney Kapoor puts it: "It's the smile, the warmth on her face. It's Sippy agree that Madhuri makes an unbeatable bet. Her name in a face that can easily project all emotions and every emotion the star-cast of an A-class commercial film can fetch producers looks real. Few faces have such mobility." up to Rs 40 lakh more on total movie sales. In today's movie market, where sales of a film's soundtrack More important, unlike most stars, Madhuri has increased often dictate box-office destiny, song and dance have become of her price steadily over the years, always careful not to outprice paramount importance to a herself. Stars such as Salman film's success. This is exactly Khan and Ajay Devgan, who where Madhuri scores. With "T hiked up their price to Rs 40 eight years of rigorous training 1 meet strugglers every day, but rarely a lakh plus after one big hit, find in Kathak, she comes through girl like Madhuri. I knew she could hit the that several of their new films as a natural. Mukul Anand remain unsold. The reason: believes she can make the most big time and I took her on like a project." several consecutive flops have vulgar dance movements look SUBHASH GHAI. producer-director reduced their marketability 126 INDIA TODAY * SEPTEMBER 15. 1993 and theirfilm sca n no longer be Mr India. And there are those sold at prices that will recover is not a girl who knows she is who wonder if she ever can.