Madhuri Dixit on Vidya Balan: 'She's very secure and I really got along with her' | Bhool Bhulaiyyaa 3

Madhuri Dixit

For the third instalment in the Bhool Bhulaiyyaa franchise, makers went all out to ensure maximum audience presence by bringing in both Madhuri Dixit and Vidya Balan. Their dance jugalbandi in the song Ami Je Tomar 3.0 became the biggest highlight in the film. Madhuri, who has been selective about projects of late, says despite the length of the role, she took it up because it was something she hadn't done before.

Excerpts from a chat where she talked about bonding with Vidya Balan on set, and why she has been choosy about roles. Read:

My role was short but pivotal

Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 has a mélange of characters - Kartik Aaryan, Triptii Dimri, Vidya Balan and many more. Madhuri is credited with a special appearance in the film. Despite the short role, Madhuri says she took it up because she hadn't played a ‘ghost' before.

"Anees bhai (Bazmee, director) had come home to narrate the script to me, and of course, there was the aura of Bhool Bhoolaiya 1 and 2. When I heard my role, I was very happy actually. This is something I've not done before. During my 40 years in the industry, there were so many different roles I've played, and I thought, my God, this is going to be something very different. I was very excited to be of the ghosts and never done that before again," she said.

"I think my role was pivotal because there are these two characters who are creating all the confusion, Manjulika and Anjulika, because nobody knows who the actual ghost is, and to create that kind of an aura, I think they needed a name which was like… maybe she is the ghost or maybe somebody else is. But people didn't guess till the end who the actual ghost was. I thought it would be fun to work with Anees bhai and the whole group - Kartik Aryan, Tripti and Vidya," she added.

Bonding with Vidya on set

She has done plenty of two-heroine films in her career, and many of those films have had at least one iconic dance sequence - Dance of Envy (Dil Toh Pagal Hai), Dola Re Dola (Devdas), etc. Ami Je Tomar 3.0 with Vidya and Madhuri dancing together was the high point of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3. Madhuri says she got a chance to bond with Vidya this time as they had a lot of scenes together.

"In Devdas, Aishwarya (Rai) and I had just one scene together. Even in Dil Toh Pagal Hai, we (Karisma and her) hardly had many scenes together. So, this is the first time I worked with someone where we had a lot of scenes together. The whole climax was shot and we were on the set together. I must say that she's someone I really, really enjoyed working with because she's such a brilliant actor herself. Whenever we did that scene in the little small room where we are laughing, playing those childish games, there were a lot of last-minute things we did in that and we were on the same page and it was wonderful working with her. She's such a good actor but also a very good person, very secure in herself and someone I really got along with," Madhuri described.

‘I'm a free bird now'

Madhuri has taken up very few acting projects in the past few years, mostly owing to the pandemic and also because she was focused on her sons - Arin and Ryan. "The Fame Game was shot during the pandemic. Even Maja Ma was shot during that time. And my kids were off to college after that. I had taken it a little slow, but now I'm a free bird. My kids are in college and I have a lot of time. We are empty nesters. Now people will see more of me than they did. But, you know, I've kept working. I've never really taken a long breather. Maybe for films, I think after Kalank, people saw me on screen with Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3. I cannot tell you in detail, but I'm doing a series and a movie next year,"

We were really looking forward to the second season of Fame Game, we say. "What a pity. Even I was very excited. But I don't know, things didn't work out," Madhuri says.