Madhuri Dixit: The Dancer Who Defined Hindi Cinema in the Nineties

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Madhuri Dixit was born in Mumbai on May 15, 1967, and she is a trained Kathak dancer. After some early films that did not do much, she became a star with Tezaab in 1988. The song Ek Do Teen made her a national name, and it showed the power of a great dance number in an Indian film.

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The nineties were her decade. She had hits with films such as Beta, Khalnayak and Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!, which became one of the highest-grossing Hindi films of its time. Dil To Pagal Hai in 1997 gave her another success and a Filmfare Best Actress award, and it let her play a dancer with real dance skills.

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In 1999 she married Sriram Nene, a doctor, and moved to the United States, taking a long break from films. She came back with Aaja Nachle in 2007, and she has continued to work in films and on television, including judging dance competitions.

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In 2002 she appeared in Devdas as Chandramukhi, a role that let her show her best Kathak work, particularly in the song Dola Re Dola, alongside Aishwarya Rai. She received the Padma Shri in 2008.

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Which Madhuri Dixit song would you pick? For me it is a tie between Ek Do Teen and the whole of Devdas.