Do you know Madhuri Dixit’s first show was rejected by Doordarshan?
Madhuri Dixit was one of the most sought-after and highest paid actors of the 90s. The actor, who celebrates her birthday on May 15, was ranked the fourth-greatest Bollywood star of all-time during the centenary celebrations of Indian Cinema in 2013. She was placed after Amitabh Bachchan, Dilip Kumar and Shah Rukh Khan. But, did you know that she was a part of the television industry as well? In fact, her debut TV show was scrapped because the cast was not ‘good enough’.
Madhuri Dixit made her debut with ‘Abodh’ in 1984 opposite Bengali actor Tapas Pal. However, the film failed to perform well despite Dixit earning praise for her performance. A year later, she featured on a television show titled ‘Paying Guest’.
Madhuri Dixit appeared in the first episode of the show. She plays a character called Neena, who runs away from her home with her lover. They take up the house and live with the couple who had recently decided to have paying guests over.
Neena also fears that the homeowners would soon find out that they are not married and have eloped. Her fears come true when the landlord finds out about it through the newspaper, where Neena’s father has advertised Rs 50,000 for the one who would be able to find his daughter.
The show was created by Rajshri Productions and had a total of 26 episodes. It was years later that Madhuri made her return to TV, but as a judge on a dance reality show.
Interestingly, this was not the first TV show Madhuri shot for. She had done it ahead of her debut with ‘Abodh’ for a show called ‘Bombay Meri Hai’. The pilot episode was also shot. However, it was scrapped by Doordarshan, who did not find the cast to be impressive.
It was in 1988 that Madhuri appeared in ‘Teezaab’. Her song, ‘Ek Do Teen’, took the nation by storm and there was no looking back for the actor.
