- April 23, 2023
Madhoo: I rejected Shilpa Shetty’s role in Baazigar, but I have no regrets – Big Interview – Times of India
In this week’s Big Interview, Madhoo speaks about her film journey, her passion for family and the reality check that her daughters have given her in 2011. She also recalls the story of how she got the name Madhoo. She sheds light on the traumatic episode of being thrown out of her first film and the memorable conversation she had with Mahesh Bhatt. She also reveals why she decided to not marry an actor, inside stories of link-ups and her big celebrity crush. Read on for a lot more masala from Madhoo…
You were named Padma Malini, so how did you transition to the name Madhoo?
Padma Malini is my birth name. It derives from the names goddess Lakshmi and goddess Padma. My family was into traditional rituals and they named me Padma. I was raised in Delhi, where the majority of people living around my home in Karol Bagh were from the Punjabi community. The name Padma just didn’t fit well with them. There was one lovely young lady in our area and we called her Uma Didi. She always addressed me as Madhoo. I was a little tot, always running around, and she never called me Padma. So the name ‘Madhoo’ had already caught on in our society, and eventually everyone started calling me by that name. People stopped calling me Padma, and my father must have realised that. Though I never had a chance to ask him. He named me Padma, but when he registered me in school, he called me Madhoo.
I feel this name was given to me by the people and I am meant to be in the public domain. That’s why I never used my father’s name, Raghunathan and after marriage I never used my surname, Shah because, for the people, I am just Madhoo.
Looking back, do you feel lucky that your debut film ‘Phool Aur Kaante’ turned out to be a blockbuster?
‘Phool Aur Kaante’ might have been a blockbuster but for me, it was a fresh film. Everyone, from the director, producer and actors, were new and fresh. At the time, when Yash Chopra ji and Subhash Ghai ji were ruling the industry, they were the dons of the industry and their films were called Magna. But our film became a Magna because of the hard work put in by the people. Regardless of whether my debut film was a hit or flop, getting the opportunity was the biggest thing.
How did you end up getting signed for the film?
Back in 1990, I had finished my education and my father had asked me to either start working or start studying further, else he would get me married off. He never encouraged sitting idle at home. I didn’t want to get married, and I also didn’t want to study more (laughs). I started typing so I could get a job as a stenographer and also started finding jobs for the position of receptionist. I also gave job interviews in 5 Star hotels. I also tried my luck becoming an air hostess. I had passed a few tests, but I knew that I was not going to pass the last interview because they had asked me a question about why I wanted to be in this field, to which I replied that my dream was to be an actress, but since I hadn’t got a chance to be an actor, I wanted to be an air hostess. I knew they were not going to select me because of my answer. I was desperate to get work, and one fine day, while I was playing carrom with my brothers, we got a call from filmmaker Kuku Kohli. He asked me to act in his next directorial as the female lead. Utne mein mera carrom ka turn aagaya and I passed the phone to my father. They discussed the remuneration, and I was signed on. Later, I found out that there was another actress who was signed for the film but she dropped out of the project due to some reasons. They had even shot about 60 percent of the film. I didn’t even know who Ajay Devgn was. But for me, working in the film meant my father was going to get off my back and I will get my chance at acting. So I did it.
Your co-star Ajay Devgn was also a newcomer. Did either of you feel any pressure or anxiety?
Ajay had a nice group. It was all his fight masters and fighter friends on the sets. He was being trained for the film under the guidance of his father Veeru Devgn ji. He was not a nervous newcomer, and for some reason, I wasn’t one either. Maybe, I didn’t feel nervous because Ajay was my co-star. Agar samne Govinda, Anil Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Jackie Shroff aise koi established actors hote toh I would have felt nervous. But Ajay and I were from Mithibai college, so we had that Juhu vibe and Veeruji was my father’s friend. Working on Phool Aur Kaante was like meeting friends. I think that worked in my favour.
Did you ever get nervous working with any of your superstar colleagues?
The movies that became successful were the ones in which I never got nervous. I never got nervous working with Akshay (Kumar), Suniel (Shetty), and Ajay (Devgn). I never got nervous working in the South, though I was working with big actors and directors there. My desire was to only work in Hindi films. South Indian films happened to me by chance. In Hindi, I worked with mostly newcomers, but in the South, I worked with all established stars. In Hindi, I never felt performance pressure because I worked in a friendly atmosphere, and in the South, I never got nervous because I didn’t mind even if they didn’t like my work. I would just go back to Hindi films. Having said that, there were times where I also got nervous and felt the pressure to perform. But when that happened, I always suffered. But whenever I felt comfortable, I shined.
Did you stay in touch with your industry friends during your sabbatical?
No! When I left the industry, I completely left it because I wanted to be with my family and kids. I didn’t want to be in touch with the film world. I was not in touch with anybody from the Hindi film industry, but I kept in touch with some of my co-stars from the South. I don’t know why; maybe I had a better connection with them.
Do you feel filmmaking is a male dominated industry and the men don’t have to make sacrifices to succeed or stay relevant?
It is not just applicable to the industry; it is the way of the world. But talking about the film industry being a man’s world, I always knew it and never thought of questioning it. I never thought, ‘Why should I not get equal pay since I am the heroine of the film?’. I just wanted to be on screen and that itself was the biggest gift. Uske baad kya ladai karni? I never fought for anything after having that realisation. When I entered the industry it was a period of action movies and actresses had only a few scenes and songs. I always thought that the movie was carried by the heroes because they were fighting, rescuing, romancing and doing everything. It was fine with me that they were getting good pay.
Agar film achchi chali toh log bolte the Ajay Devgn ki film hit ho gayi, Akshay Kumar ki film hit ho gayi, aur agar flop hoti thi toh log bolte the Ajay Devgn ki film flop ho gayi, Akshay Kumar ki film flop ho gayi. I never got blamed for anything. My market went on for 10 years and I was busy with good films. Some became hits and people praised the jodi. No one discredited me for any film, and hence I never questioned it. But hats off to the girls who are questioning it today. Actresses like Kangana Ranaut, Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt are actually pulling crowds to theatres, so they should definitely ask for higher remuneration. If people are coming to see Deepika, she has the right to ask for the money. In my time, people didn’t come to see just Madhoo on screen; they came to see Ajay-Madhoo, Akshay-Madhoo and so on. I never questioned it because that was the truth.
Do you feel you’ve evolved as an actress now or are you still the same Madhoo we saw in ‘Roja’ and ‘Phool Aur Kaante’?
Agar main same Madhoo hoti toh nahi chalti aaj. Along with life, acting has also changed. I did a movie in 2011 called ‘Love U… Mr Kalaakaar’ when my daughters were in school. I did that movie because it was shot entirely in Mumbai. When the film was released, my daughters and their friends went to watch it at a multiplex. They came back home and told me that I was looking very old-fashioned in the film. At that time, Priyanka Chopra and Preity Zinta were quite popular and my daughters were their fans. My daughters’ criticism came as a shock to me. Imagine your own child coming and telling you that you are old-fashioned as an actor. All the time, I thought that I was a good actor. Between Roja and Phool Aur Kaante, I thought one thing was established: Madhoo is a good actor. But when my own child told me that I am old-fashioned, it was a wake-up call.
I knew I could not be the same after that and I had to change my projection in acting. So now, my kids keep me contemporary and relevant. When my kids like my performance, I will feel as empowered as Bella Hadid, Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt, whoever they love and like. My kids like what Deepika is doing, I am a big fan of hers, too. What is important is not learning new things but unlearning the old. When one is new to the industry, she or he learns the skills, but when someone is re-entering the industry, there are a lot of things that one has to unlearn. Purani cheezein drop karo toh nayi cheezein adopt kar sakte ho. And I have adopted that.
You were dropped from your first ever film after shooting for 4 days and you had revealed in the past that you cried the whole night. What exactly happened?
It happened even before I started my career. The incident was the greatest pain of my life. For that very young girl to be chosen and then dropped unceremoniously without even being informed. It must have been the saddest day of that little girl’s life. But where I am today, I look at it as a lovely blessing in the journey of life. That event aroused something within me and I felt that now I will do it. Before that, I went around asking people whether I could be a good actor or not. My father made two movies, ‘Awaargi’ and ‘Marg’, which were directed by Mahesh Bhatt. I used to go on the sets. When I was signed for that film, I was so scared about being chosen to be the female lead in a film. I couldn’t even tell my college friends about signing a movie. After signing the film, I went and asked Mahesh uncle one question. It was during a night shoot on the sets of ‘Marg’. I asked him if he thought I could be an actress? He shouted at me, saying I am an actress and I am going to act since I have signed a movie. He advised me not to ask that question again. He said, I have to be an actress and not have these doubts. I liked the thought and the next day I went to college and announced to all my college friends that I had signed a film. Can you imagine, I was dropped after that. ‘Iss ladki ko toh kuch aata nahi hai’, they said. But that was the event that gave birth to a girl who said, I may not be tall, short, thin, fair, good-looking and fluent in Hindi, but I will be an actor one day. That spirit carried me through all the other shortcomings in life. I never said to myself I am not pretty and I can never act in life. I never saw the flaw. The flaw never stood in my way because the fire and the decision to make things possible stayed with me. I attribute that fire to the rejection. It is because of that incident that I am where I am today. It gave me the courage to move, otherwise life would have been very daunting for me.
Did you reject any Bollywood films?
In those days, I was very busy and there were quite a few Bollywood offers that I could not take up. I could not do a Hindi film because I was busy doing a Tamil film, and vice versa. In fact, because I was focused on five film industries (Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada), I never did more than one film at a time. I was busy doing films in all the states and I had no regrets. I had to reject ‘Baazigar’. I was offered Shilpa Shetty‘s role, but as I said, I have no regrets at all.
I didn’t do ‘Baazigar’ because I was doing some other movie. I don’t want to erase any experiences in life.
Is it true that your husband saw you in ‘Diljale’ and fell in love with you?
We are booked and cooked now. My husband shares a great relationship with me. A relationship that still has fights, cares, smiles, laughs and make ups. He is a perfect complement to my fiery personality. I am the one who can be mean, holding on to grudges but he is the one who is like a father figure. I have been angry, and thrown tantrums but he has always been nice to me. He saw me in ‘Diljale’ and fell in love with me. We met through a common friend, who arranged a photoshoot for his company. I was signed on professionally but pictures from that photoshoot never came out. By God’s grace, it has been 25 lovely years of our togetherness.
Did you ever deal with any gossip or any link-ups with co-stars?
Thank God there was no social media back in our time and we did all those silly things without coming into the limelight. During adolescence, one carries their heart on their sleeve. Young people fall for the little things in life. They like, dislike, break up, wear makeup, and all those things happen in life at that time. I don’t carry pain or hurt; I only carry lessons, and that’s why I decided, main film industry mein shaadi nahi karungi (I will not get married to someone from the industry). Because I went through a certain kind of situation. The biggest lesson I learned was that I am a possessive and jealous person, who cannot get married to an actor.
I also understand that cinema is a profession where everyone is living a dream; they are falling for the film, they get attracted to and attached to their onscreen boyfriend or girlfriend and there’s no one to blame. I will not call it an affair; it is just a human connection but I cannot tolerate it as a wife at any point in time. The industry gives such opportunities to an actor on a platter.
Did you ever have a crush on an actor or a co-star?
When one talks about a crush, the first name that comes to my mind is Shah Rukh Khan. His charisma and the way he does things on screen, what he represents, appeals to me. I am his biggest fan. Even when his films flop, he doesn’t do well at the box office or he does horrible work, he is just like a God.
Do you feel taking a sabbatical from acting was a wise decision?
Yes. Because I don’t do anything half-heartedly. I don’t know the meaning of quality time as a parent. I always wanted quantity time with my kids. I always wanted to be around my kids 24/7 and whenever they needed me. Without regret I can tell you that I have watched my kids’ first step, food, crush, flops – when they failed in exams, all their concerts, I have attended all their teacher’s meetings, picked them up from the bus stop every single day. I have been there for them. So today my kids can’t turn around and say that I was not there when they were growing up and that is my greatest achievement as a parent.
How would you describe yourself as a mother?
I believe I am a normal mother who can sometimes be a psycho. I am a guilt-free mother who does not have any compensatory behaviour. I unleash all my anger without any guilt. My kids sometimes tell me, ‘I may look very cool to the world but in reality I am an uncool and psycho mother’.
Will you encourage your daughters to opt for a career in the film industry or are they pursuing other careers?
I love this industry and if my daughters want to make a career in this industry, I will help them. I will pull the nepotism card and I will reach out to all my industry acquaintances and I will visit their houses, too (laughs). This industry has given me all the love and if my child needs it I will reach out to the one or two people who can help them. Why will I not call them and ask? In the end, it’s all about destiny, but I will completely support my daughters.
How will you sum up your journey as an actress?
It’s been a journey and an experience. The second time around, when I re-entered it was a different experience. When I started in the film industry in 1991, every first film in each language that I did was a hit. From 1991 to 1994, whatever I did in all four states was a hit. So the minute I came into the industry I became popular. When I re-entered the industry, it’s been around 10 years that I am constantly working through various mediums and languages, nothing has hit the bull’s eye yet. Each experience has enriched me, people have appreciated each role that I have played and have given me a chance to unlearn and relearn things, step by step. Summing up, I began the journey with a big hit like ‘Phool Aur Kaante’ and with small steps like ‘Nail Polish’, ‘Shaakuntalam’, ‘Thalaivi’ and many more, the journey has been a great success.
