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Pahlaj Nihalani recalls Madhuri Dixit refusing film opposite newcomer Govinda; says her movies kept flopping after the incident: ‘I got angry that Madhuri…’

Pahlaj Nihalani revealed that Madhuri Dixit once refused to work opposite Govinda in his film, as the actor was a newcomer at the time.

Pahlaj Nihalani says Madhuri Dixit refused film opposite Govinda. (Pic: Madhuri/Instagram)

Pahlaj Nihalani recently opened up about Madhuri Dixit and her early career decisions. The filmmaker revealed that the “Dhak Dhak girl” once refused to work opposite Govinda in his film, as the actor was a newcomer at the time. Pahlaj blamed Madhuri’s decision on her secretary Rikku Rakesh Nath and shared how Rikku allegedly joined forces with producers to hamper Govinda’s career.

Speaking about Madhuri and Rikku, who managed her career for more than a decade, Pahlaj said, “I met Govinda through Rikku Rakesh Nath. I only recommended him to manage Madhuri Dixit. I had signed Govinda opposite Madhuri and I had appointed Rikku as a secretary. Later, Rikku and 8-10 producers made a group against Govinda. They added pages in the screenplay but none of those films were made.”

Though Pahlaj Nihalani didn’t directly mention the film, he hinted that he had offered Madhuri Dixit the lead role opposite Govinda in his film Ilzaam, which was set to be the second film of Govinda’s career. However, Madhuri refused to star opposite him. Nihalani then decided to cast Neelam in place of Madhuri — a gamble that turned out to be highly beneficial, as Ilzaam became a box-office hit and made Neelam an overnight star.

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Recalling this phase, he said, “I replaced Madhuri with Neelam Kothari. I offered another film to Madhuri, Aag Hi Aag… but whatever films Madhuri was doing kept shutting down. Again I cast Neelam in Aag Hi Aag. Then I did Paap Ki Duniya, again with Neelam.”

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Pahlaj Nihalani further revealed that while his three films went on to become back-to-back successes, Madhuri Dixit’s career at the time was faltering, with several of her projects either shutting down or turning out to be flops. He said, “Then I got angry that Madhuri is refusing whatever films I bring to her, Rikku kept making excuses. I then court martialed them in an interview. All of Madhuri’s films kept shutting down or they were being declared flop. But all the three of my films were golden jubilee at the same time.”

However, soon after, Rikku approached Pahlaj with a request related to Madhuri’s next project. “Then Rikku came to me asking that even if you don’t make a film with Madhuri, just do a mahurat of her film. This was the time when the industry was reeling under video piracy and no mahurats of films were being done. At this time, I did mahurat of three films, including one with Madhuri, Anil Kapoor, Chunky Panday.”

That film turned out to be Tezaab, which proved to be the turning point in Madhuri Dixit’s career. The actor’s performance was widely appreciated, and she even received a Filmfare Best Actress nomination for her role. Madhuri and Govinda eventually worked in films like Maha-Sangram, Izzatdaar and Paap Ka Ant.

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