When Dr Sriram Nene recalled how he nearly rejected Madhuri Dixit because of her profession: 'Didn't want to marry someone from the film industry'

Before marrying Madhuri Dixit, Dr Sriram Nene was unaware that she was one of India’s biggest film stars. In fact, having grown up in Los Angeles and worked closely with people from Hollywood, he admitted he had no interest in marrying someone from the film industry at all.

Speaking during a Google Fireside chat nearly a decade ago, Dr Nene said he didn’t even watch Hindi movies while growing up. “My folks are from Mumbai. I spoke Marathi, but I didn’t know Hindi. We didn’t watch Hindi movies growing up. I was at UCLA, and we took care of a lot of the Hollywood industry. I’ll be very candid with you, the industry there is completely crazy... The last thing I want to do is see someone from the film industry,” he said.

But things changed after he met Madhuri’s brother, who left a strong impression on him. “He was phenomenal and very down-to-earth. He kind of fit our overall mindset. I agreed to meet her, and I probably might’ve googled her back then,” Dr Nene added with a laugh.

He recalled being struck by Madhuri's humility when they finally met. “I didn’t know who she was… What you found is that they put their pants on one leg at a time, just like everyone else. The connect was that we didn’t treat each other differently, regardless of what our stature was,” he said. Praising his wife, he added, “The one thing I loved about her was that she’s down-to-earth, and very straightforward and focused. That’s not always the case in the filmy line.”

To that, Madhuri cheekily quipped, “He didn’t know what he was getting into.”

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After tying the knot in 1999, Madhuri relocated to the United States, where she said she enjoyed the rare luxury of living like a regular person. But in the mid-2000s, she made her return to the film industry. Dr Nene moved back to India with her in 2011, and the couple has been based here since.

Reflecting on life post their move, Madhuri said, “It was back to square one. I have to pick and choose where I can be and where I can go. But I do try. After living in Denver and being so independent, when you go back, everything is a little different… I wear my hat or my big gold glares and I feel like this is a proper disguise. But then, somebody will come and whisper in my ear, ‘Can I have an autograph’.”