When Madhuri Dixit tied the knot with Dr Shriram Nene in 1999, stepped away from films at her peak, and relocated to Denver, many admirers felt the void—among them was the iconic MF Husain. The celebrated artist regarded Madhuri as his eternal muse, creating numerous artworks inspired by her and signing them off with the word “Fida,” symbolising his devotion towards her. In a recent interview, Madhuri recalled the legendary painter’s visit to her. She told Faye D’Souza. “He was such a lovely person. I remember when he came to visit my home in Denver, he said, ‘I’ve always seen you as Madhuri Dixit, the actress. Now, I want to see you as Madhuri Dixit, the mother.’ Because I’d had both my sons at that time. I said, ‘Yes, you’re most welcome. Please come,’” she recalled.By then, she and Dr Nene were parents to Arin (born in 2003) and Ryan (born in 2005). Although she had last been seen in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s grand period romance ‘Devdas’ in 2002, she had paused acting after embracing motherhood. Madhuri remembered how, during one visit, Husain immediately insisted on painting her, but she stopped him and asked him to rest instead. “He said, ‘Why are you punishing me?’ I said, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘I’m most relaxed when I paint.’ That’s exactly how I feel about my art. I’m most comfortable in front of the camera, playing these different characters. I said, ‘Hussain ji, you made me realise that about myself too when you said that,’” she shared.His visits were anything but ordinary. Madhuri narrated with amusement how he arrived with only a small rollaway bag. “Every house he went to, he brought along a lot of goodwill, laughter, and sense of humour. When he came to visit me, he had nothing but a rollaway bag. I thought maybe he has clothes in that bag. When I came home, he said, ‘Bring a canvas. I want to paint.’ When I said, ‘But we’ll have to get paints too.’ He showed me the rollover bag and said, ‘No, here are the paints.’ I said, ‘Then where are your clothes? What are you going to wear?’ He said he just has the shirt and pants he was wearing then, and his night pyjamas underneath because it was cold in Denver. I said, ‘Okay, let’s go shopping now!,’” she recounted with laughter.Husain’s admiration for Dixit entended beyond paintings. He made his 2000 film ‘Gaja Gamini’ which was essentially a cinematic ode to her. He even appeared in ‘Mohabbat’ (1997), in which Madhuri played a painter. Interestingly, the paintings shown in the film were Husain’s own creations.Infact, Dixit’s encouter with Hussain nudged Madhuri back towards the arc lights, leading to her return with ‘Aaja Nachle’ in 2007. Soon after, she joined ‘Jhalak Dikhla Jaa’ as a judge, and by 2011, she and her family permanently shifted base back to Mumbai.
