Madhuri Dixit turns 51: Two big releases, Marathi debut, biographical show — this could be her year

Bollywood’s original dhak dhak girl, Madhuri Dixit Nene turns 51 today. Her life so far has been nothing short of an adventure, a ship that she has always captained. Whether it was making a whole generation groove to the iconic ‘Ek do Teen’ or quitting Bollywood and moving to LA after marriage right at the peak of her career, one can trust her to take risks. [caption id=“attachment_4470457” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Madhuri Dixit. Image from Twitter/@NenaSNK[/caption] After officially marking her return to films with Aaja Nachle in 2007, after a gap of five years, Madhuri made a beeline for the popular dance reality show, Jhalak Dikhla Jaa. A few films here and there (Dedh Ishqiya, Gulaab Gang) and she was back on the scene exuding the same charm and grace that she had left with. This year, however, is especially important for the Padma Shri awardee as she has been roped in to star in some of the biggest Bollywood projects announced so far. She’s also testing the waters and making her Marathi debut with _Bucket List_  which has been a long time coming. She has already joined the cast of _Total Dhamaal_ along with Anil Kapoor, possibly paving the way for a ’90s revisit when both of them ruled the screen with their chemistry. The third installment of the successful, potboiler Dhamaal franchise, Total Dhamaal, therefore promises to come with a smattering of nostalgia. Apart from Total Dhamaal, the 90s diva will also be seen in Dharma Productions’ multi-starrer, Kalank , with Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Aditya Roy Kapur, Sonakshi Sinha and Sanjay Dutt. Not only does the film let Madhuri score points for being ambitious, it also places her back in Bollywood’s exclusive big-budget club. It’ll also be careless to not mention her Marathi debut film, Bucket List, which will add another feather to her cap. Her decision to go bilingual on screen is also a sign of her catching up with the winds of change and having an astute business sense. Regional cinema has never been bigger in the country and there is probably no better time to take the plunge other than now. The Madhuri of the ’90s might have been the queen of tasteful dance numbers but the Madhuri of now is a producer of a show based on her own life. A TV show based on her years in the US, backed by Priyanka Chopra, is  “definitely in the works”, the actress confirmed a few weeks ago. With two big ticket films, an international TV show and a much-awaited Marathi debut on the cards, one could say that this is a great time to be Madhuri Dixit Nene.