INDIAN actress Madhuri Dixit feels that contrary to popular perception, her contemporaries have not faded into oblivion are still going strong.
“It is great to see all those actors up there. They all have worked hard. Juhi Chawla, Kajol, Sridevi are doing wonderful work today. One should not generalise that actresses of our times are not around, it is not right.
“All these ladies are doing good work. They are going strong. They are making their own space,” the actress said.
Even after her marriage with US-based Dr Shriram Nene in 1999, Madhuri continued to act in films.
“I have always worked. Even after getting married and going there (US) I did Devdas, Lajja, Pukar, Hum Tumhare Hai Sanam, Aaja Nach Le, Jhalak Dikhla Jaa. I did a lot of work after marriage. I have always been here,” the actress, who ruled the 80s and 90s, said.
The “dhak dhak” girl, whose item song “Ghagra” with Indian actor Ranbir Kapoor, is topping the charts, is one of the judges in the dance reality show Jhalak Dikhla Jaa. She is also working in two new films – Gulab Gang and Dedh Ishqiya.
The actress is excited about the first look of her upcoming film Gulab Gang which will be unveiled at the International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA) to be held in Macau.
In her other film Dedh Ishqiya, Madhuri is playing Begum Para, a role said to be radically different from the one played by Vidya Balan in Ishqiya.
Balan voiced expletives in the first film, but cuss words have reportedly been removed from the dialogues in the sequel to the 2010 hit Ishqiya.
“My character does not need to do all that (use foul language). She is a begum.”
When asked if there are any intimate scenes with Indian actor Naseeruddin Shah in the upcoming film, the 46-year-old said, “I will do things that I am comfortable with. When people will see the film they will know.”
Madhuri dismissed reports that she features in a special song in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s upcoming magnum opus Ram Leela with Ranveer Singh.
“Nobody has approached me for the song. And there is no talk about it. I don’t know from where these stories come from,” she said.
