If everybody is Madhuri Dixit, they will be like clones: Madhuri Dixit

She is the original dancing diva. That Madhuri Dixit Nene is passionate about the art form is evident from the fact she has started her own dance academy online. And now, after Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, she has chosen to be on the panel of another dance show So You Think You Can Dance — Ab India Ki Baari along with Terence Lewis and Bosco. Not only that, the actress is willing to do a dance-based film if it is all about dancers like ABCD and its sequel were.    

You’ve already judged a dance show Jhalak Dikhla Jaa. How will So You Think You Can Dance be different?

Jhalak is mainly about celebrities and So You Think You Can Dance is about common people. The biggest difference is this show will have people who are already dancers and are passionate about what they do. This show begins where Jhalak... ends. In the other, they become dancers, in this they already are.  In this, the dancers are pushed to their limits. It is about what they can do, how versatile they are, etc. We will have two different styles of dancing — street and stage — pitted against each other. It will be interesting how street people will take to stage and battle it out and vice versa. It will be a wonderful, superlative competition.

Have you watched the original show?

Yes, I used to follow it when I was in the US. The dancing is just brilliant in the show.

What will be your approach as a judge on this show?

My approach is always to encourage the dancers and help them through difficult times. Terence (Lewis) is more stage. Bosco is street dance and I am somewhere in between. I am basically stage but I do have street in me because of Bollywood and have done all kinds of dancing. It will be interesting how we perceive each dance in a different way.

You have your own dance academy online...

(Cuts in) Yes I do. I watch these people from everyday life who have no money to go to dance classes and learn, but acquire the skill from websites and Internet. When I see them dancing so well, I ask them, ‘Are you sure you haven’t learnt this from someone (despite having my own dance school online) and they say no ma’m we have learnt it from the Internet, it validates what I am doing. Yes, you can learn from the Internet. I think I am doing a great thing introducing different styles of dancing and teaching all these skills where they can learn and do something with it.

Who is a good dancer among Bollywood actors and actresses today?

Shahid Kapoor is good, Hrithik (Roshan), of course. Tiger Shroff dances very well. Varun Dhawan, who is a very good dancer, has the Bollywood style to the ‘T’. Among girls, there’s Priyanka Chopra, Shraddha Kapoor who danced so well in ABCD2 and Katrina Kaif - she dances beautifully. There are so many of them now.  

Dance films are doing well now. You also had done Aaja Nachle, but it didn’t do well then. Would you be a part of dance film now?

When you do a movie, everything has to fall into place. The script has to be good. If it’s a dance film, it should be like ABCD or ABCD 2, which was all about the dancers. If something like that comes along, and I like it, I will do it.

You are good friends with Remo D’Souza. Hasn’t he offered you a dance film? 

Remo, I think, is busy doing Flying Jatt. I am sure if there is anything he wants to approach me for, he will definitely ask me.

Most of your heroes like Jackie Shroff and Anil Kapoor have played fathers. Are you open to playing a mother on screen now? 

The thing is, I have played a mother of a nine-year old girl. I have played my own mother in Sangeet. Aisa kuch nahi hai, the script has to be good, it has to be something meaningful, it has to have some entertainment. It depends on what kind of a role it is. It’s not about whether you want to play a mother or not. What is the script about, is what is more important.

Who is the Madhuri of today?

(Laughs) Oh no! Don’t do that. Everyone has their own personalities, and that’s how it should be. If everybody is Madhuri Dixit then, they will be like clones.

You know, even a film Main Madhuri Banana Chahti Hoon was made...

Yes, I think what it signified is the hard work - everything a person puts into an art. It’s about keeping your values, doing something properly and working hard at it.