Madhuri Dixit: 90s Peak Female Superstardom

[Aarti]

Madhuri Dixit stepped into the 90s already a huge name thanks to *Tezaab* (1988), *Ram Lakhan* (1989) and *Tridev* (1989), and then she completely owned the early-90s. From 1990 to 1992 she headlined three consecutive highest-grossing films – *Dil* (1990), *Saajan* (1991) and *Beta* (1992). She bagged her first Filmfare Best Actress for *Dil* and her second for *Beta*, where her performance as Saraswati stole the show from Anil Kapoor. *Khalnayak* (1993) was the second-biggest grosser of that year, and songs like "Koyal Si Teri Boli", "Dhak Dhak Karne Laga" and "Choli Ke Peechhe Kya Hai" became cultural moments thanks to her expressions and dance moves.

In 1994 she headlined *Hum Aapke Hain Koun...!* – even though Salman Khan was the hero, Madhuri's fame was so high she earned a higher fee than him, a first in Bollywood. The film became the biggest hit ever then, selling over 7 crore tickets and still holding the record for most footfalls since 1990. Made on a 6 crore budget, it grossed about 128 crore (72.5 crore net), roughly an 11× return. She won her third Filmfare Best Actress for it. The next year *Raja* with newcomer Sanjay Kapoor was another blockbuster and the third-biggest grosser of 1995. So from 1988 to 1995 Madhuri was in films that repeatedly finished in the top three earners each year.

From 1996 her box-office pull slowed, except for *Dil Toh Pagal Hai* (1997) which was the year's biggest worldwide hit and earned her another Filmfare. She gradually moved to parallel cinema in the late 90s.

Critically, she proved versatile: a spoiled rich girl in *Dil*, a murder-investigator in *100 Days* (1991), a fictional version of herself in *Dharavi* (1992), an undercover cop in *Khalnayak*, a revenge-seeking wife in *Anjaam* (1994), a dancer fleeing an abusive lover in *Yaarana* (1994), and a village woman fighting patriarchy in *Mrityudand* (1997). By the decade's end she had eight Filmfare nominations and three of her films had won National Awards.

Conclusion: From the early to mid-90s Madhuri Dixit was the undisputed #1 actress in the industry and enjoyed one of the greatest runs ever.

[Ronit]

She could single-handedly carry a film. In many movies where the hero didn't have much box-office pull – think Sanjay Kapoor, Aditya Pancholi and the like – she was the main draw.

[Rohit]

Sridevi and Madhuri were the only two female superstars we had, able to sell tickets on their own name and even earn more than their male co-stars. No other actress has achieved that.

[Shalini]

Many of her female roles weren't just eye-candy; they were strong characters that were rare in the late-80s and early-90s.

[Vandana]

Superstar for real

[Kiran]

Back then people used to call her and Sridevi the "lady Amitabh". These days Alia Bhatt has basically taken that title for herself.

[Priya]

Salman and Madhuri also did *Dil Tera Aashiq* in 1993, a year before *HAHK*, and it turned out to be a flop. Just saying.

[Ehsan]

No current actress can match even half of her aura.

[Aman]

Even in a film like *Raja* she carried it with her dance and acting; honestly, you could watch the movie just for her.

[Falguni]

Unpopular opinion: I never really liked Madhuri that much. She seemed more mature than her age and missed the youthful, girlish charm that Karishma Kapoor, Sonali Bendre or Juhi Chawla gave. In *Dil Toh Pagal Hai* she looked older than SRK, while Karishma outshone her in every department, including dance. She's a great dancer and a good actor, but I don't think she's the most beautiful actress in Indian cinema.

[Deepika]

She was undeniably a superstar – a solid actress and the best dancer, even if she wasn't my personal favourite.