In a recent interview, Bollywood icon Madhuri Dixit revealed that her sons, Arin and Ryan, only discovered her iconic filmography after they had left for college. This revelation came as a surprise, considering Dixit's prominent status in Hindi cinema and the cultural impact of her movies.
Dixit shared that her sons' exposure to her work was largely influenced by their Indian friends and classmates. She recounted amusing anecdotes about how her sons' peers reacted with disbelief when they learned that Arin and Ryan hadn't seen their mother's famous films. "They'd ask them if they had seen a particular movie of their mom, and they would say no. They'd be like: 'What are you saying!'" Dixit said, laughing. According to Dixit, it was only after finishing school, and at the insistence of their classmates, that her sons finally watched many of her older films.
Madhuri Dixit married Dr. Shriram Nene in 1999 and subsequently took a break from her acting career to focus on her family, relocating to Denver, USA, where her sons were born. While she eventually returned to India and resumed acting, her children did not initially develop an interest in the film world.
In the interview, Dixit also discussed her sons' career paths. Arin, her elder son, is now 22 years old and has graduated from the University of Southern California's Viterbi School of Engineering. He majored in computer engineering and minored in music. According to Dixit, Arin is currently working at Apple, where he is involved in developing a noise cancellation program. She also mentioned that he independently produces his own music. Ryan, her younger son, is 20 years old and is also studying at the University of Southern California, with a strong inclination towards science and technology.
Dixit also addressed her evolving filmography and her recent choice of darker, more complex roles. Her latest web series, "Mrs. Deshpande," directed by Nagesh Kukunoor, sees her playing a serial killer. When asked about her approach to portraying a character with such a dark side, Dixit explained that her focus was on making the character relatable. "Outside, she's just a housewife... She loves to cook, make her modaks," she said, emphasizing the character's quiet and internal darkness.
Dixit clarified that she never deliberately kept her sons away from the film industry. She respected their decisions, allowing them to accompany her to shoots and events whenever they expressed interest. Her sons, however, remained largely uninterested in the "film circus," as they reportedly call it, preferring to focus on their studies and personal interests.
