Madhuri Dixit refused to be cast opposite newcomer Govinda, was replaced by Neelam, reveals Pahlaj Nihalani: ‘Her films kept shutting down after that’

Madhuri Dixit struggled for a solid five to 10 years before she broke through as a superstar with Sooraj Barjatya's Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! in 1994. Producer Pahlaj Nihalani recalls her struggle and the reasons behind it.

By: Entertainment Desk

Mumbai | August 27, 2025 09:26 AM IST

Madhuri Dixit initially refused several films opposite Govinda because he was a newcomer, reveals Pahlaj Nihalani. (Photo Courtesy: Express Archives)

Madhuri Dixit made her debut back in 1984 with Hiren Nag’s Abodh, produced by Sooraj Barjatya’s Rajshri Films. Before she became a sensation after the 1994 blockbuster romantic musical Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!, she experienced quite a rough patch of about five to 10 years. Producer Pahlaj Nihalani recalled how, in her quest to become successful, she refused multiple films opposite fellow newcomer Govinda.

“I cast Madhuri opposite Govinda in a film. Other producers made a group in order to keep Madhuri away. She kept choosing other films, so I cast Neelam instead. But Madhuri’s films kept shutting down. I still offered her Aag Hi Aag (1987) and Paap Ki Duniya (1988), but she kept saying no because she didn’t want to work with a newcomer. Then I got angry,” recalled Nihalani in an interview with Pinkvilla.

In the interview, he revealed he helped appoint Rikku Rakesh Nath, who later also became a film producer, as the secretary of Madhuri. “Rikku kept making excuses on behalf of Madhuri to back out of my films. So I court martialled her. Her films, whichever released, flopped. On the other hand, all my three films were golden jubilees,” claimed Nihalani.

Nihalani recalled detailing this in a film magazine interview, after which Nath approached him “crying,” begging him to make a film with Madhuri. He said if not a film, Nihalani should at least do the mahurat clap for a Madhuri film. “At that time, the industry was drowning because of piracy. There was no mahurat that had happened for months till then,” recalled Nihalani.

He then did the mahurat for three of Madhuri’s, in which she was cast opposite Anil Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, and Chunky Panday, respectively. “Then it led to some good marketing, more mahurats for other films followed, and a ray of light spread across the industry. Goregaon Film City was so packed that there was a massive traffic jam,” added Nihalani.

However, he revealed that Madhuri never met him personally during these dealings because Nath used to manage them on her behalf. “But it happens that sometimes you don’t get a good chance. Madhuri did meet me a couple of times at the studio. But she’s a lovely girl. She kept sitting in my office initially for two days with her parents waiting for me, but I was busy shooting. I didn’t have any films with heroines at that time. Then I called her and also got Rikku appointed as her secretary,” recalled Nihalani.

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Madhuri gained recognition for her role, particularly the dance song “Ek Do Teen”, in N Chandra’s 1988 action romance Tezaab, followed by Subhash Ghai’s 1989 blockbuster Ram Lakhan, Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s 1989 crime drama Parinda, Indra Kumar’s 1990 romance Dil, Lawrence D’Souza’s 1991 romance Saajan, Kumar’s 1992 family drama Beta, and Ghai’s 1993 crime drama Khalnayak.

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