A brief introduction about various relevant issues regarding NRI marriages and their ramifications.
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The Great Bollywood NRI Weddings
Madhuri Dixit and Dr. Shriram Nene
Madhuri Dixit made a humble beginning with the Rajshris. The film was called Abodh and had the then Tollywood (Calcutta) superstar Tapash Pal cast as her hero.
The film bombed and Madhuri's future in Bollywood did not seem too bright. Filmmaker Subhash Ghai wasn't detracted though. He always said that Madhuri had the potential to be the number one and maintained at that.
Ghai did not give up on the Maharashtrian beauty and re-introduced her in Ram Lakhan. The film succeeded in exposing Madhuri's beauty and people dubbed her as the reincarnation of Madhubala.
The film that cut the ice and established Madhuri in the big league was N Chandra's Tezaab. The film was a huge success and the Saroj Khan-choreographed 'Ek do teen' entered the hallmark of extremely popular dance numbers. The item with a liberal dose of jhatkas not only propelled Madhuri towards stardom, it also established Saroj Khan as a hot dance director.
After Tezaab, producers and directors waited for months to let Madhuri's dates coincide with Saroj's. Meanwhile, Subhash Ghai was still carving out a strategy to present Madhuri as the successor to the then reigning queen Sridevi. Khalnayak fulfilled his dream. Madhuri became the next super girl with 'Choli ke peeche'.
Madhuri still reins but marriage has made changes in her list of priorities. She has cut down on her assignments and spends more time with her medico husband based in Los Angeles.
On Mr Nene
I see him as an extension of myself. What struck me about him straightaway were our common interests. He's a lot like me. Very easygoing, loves outdoor life. It's been great getting to know him.
Hubby on her work
Mr. Nene has just seen one film of Madhuri, Mrityudand, but he didn't like it. Madhuri wants him to see Pukar, and some of earlier films like Tezaab, Ram Lakhan, Prem Pratigya Beta And Devdas ofcourse.
On her marriage
Madhuri says "Well maybe because I was in love. Actually it just happened. Nothing was planned and I had to get married someday, isn't it? It was not as if I was avoiding marriage all these years because I was busy in my career. I had always said that I'd get married the day I met the right man. And that's what I did."
And their story
The two were married in a small, private and traditional ceremony held in the Laguna Beach area in Southern California, at the residence of Ajit Dixit, the star's elder brother.
"He (Nene) hadn't heard of her because he grew up here (in the US)," said Madhuri's eldest sister, Bharati Adkar, in an interview from her home in Saratoga, CA. Adkar added that Nene watched some of Dixit's films after the superstar told him that she was a top-ranking film actress in India.
"He is so busy, so he could only watch the movies in parts and he got to know her," she said, adding that the films and Dixit's larger-than-life screen presence did not change Nene's feelings for her.
Adkar, a computer engineer who runs a consulting business with her husband Sanjay (also a computer engineer), described her brother-in-law as "a brilliant chap, a brilliant surgeon, who is very much interested in different things, such as sports, debates, and arts and craft." She said that Nene, at 33, was a year older than Dixit.
Shriram Nene's father is an engineer, Adker said. The Nene family moved to the US a few decades ago, having lived in England for some years. Adkar said that after the couple was introduced, the two spent a few months getting to know each other.
"She met him, they got to know each other, she liked him, he liked her. And that was the most important thing to us" Adkar said. "They liked each other as individuals and human beings rather on issues like career et al.
So an arranged marriage got a well arranged life for our Bollywood queen.
