Madhuri Dixit opens up on musical debut 'Candle', thanks UAE fans

The Bollywood star, who recently released her debut single, chatted with City Times about her musical aspirations, and how she is spending time under lockdown amidst the Covid-19 crisis.

Versatile and graceful Bollywood star Madhuri Dixit, whose films and dancing have enthralled us since her first big screen hit, 1988's Tezaab, is revealing a new musical side to fans - through her debut single, Candle.
Ever since its release on May 23, the song has not only won the hearts of adoring fans but has also struck a chord with her colleagues in Bollywood. Actors like Hrithik Roshan, Shah Rukh Khan, Alia Bhatt and Anil Kapoor were among those who were all praise for Candle.
The elegant star chatted with City Times about her musical debut, her rendition of Ed Sheeran's Perfect, what she's been up to in the lockdown, and the lessons she's learned from the Covid-19 crisis.

You released your debut single Candle, on May 23. Are you happy with the response from fans?
I'm very happy with the response from fans; I think it was a big surprise for them. They loved the song and its message, so I'm very, very happy with the response.

You are renowned for your acting and dancing skills and not many people had known of your attachment to music prior to this. When and how did you first get interested in music and singing?
Music and singing has been a part of my life because of my mother. She is a Hindustani vocal classical singer and she's done an M.A. in music, so we used to go to all her musical programmes and I've always heard her sing. Singing, dancing, and all kinds of arts were always encouraged in my house by my parents and that's why we all love music and I want my kids to be the same way.

When and how did the idea for Candle first come about? What can you tell us about the writing/composition of the track? How did it all come together?
Well, when I was in school I used to sing all the time; I was in an English medium school so we used to sing in English. It has always been a kind of love for me. But I got so busy with my work, we used to work really hard and do two-three shifts at a time, then I got married and had children so I didn't really get to devote time to this (singing).
But one day, Sat Bisla, owner of A&R Worldwide, heard me sing and said 'you have a very beautiful voice, why don't you sing', so we got into a studio with Narendra Singh (composer and writer), Michael Ochs (writer), Raja Kumari and my husband Shriram (producers) - we had to decide what we wanted to sing, and what I felt was that everybody faces a time in their lives when they feel down and out and you always need that courage, that hope, that positivity in your life at that time to help you overcome your situation, so maybe (I could) sing something about that. And that's how Candle happened.

What message did you hope to send to the world with Candle?
The message I wanted to send to the world is that we all are in this problem together, it's a worldwide (crisis), and you see how destructive coronavirus has been. But I would like to say, take a pause, take a deep breath, it's okay, be positive and have the candle of hope in your heart where you realize that we are going to get over this. We will muster the strength to come out of this together, and stronger.
I also wanted to pay tribute to all our frontline workers who are working relentlessly for us. They are risking their own lives and sacrificing their family time, because they are away from their families. Doctors, nurses, police, sanitation workers are all working to keep us safe and healthy. So this is a tribute to them as well because I have great respect for them.

We loved your performance at the online #IForIndia concert with your son Arin. What made you pick that particular track (Ed Sheeran's Perfect) and did you practice a lot?
You know that's where it started, where people realized that I do sing in English. I sang Perfect for #IForIndia which was a fundraiser (for Covid-19). My son played piano so we did practice together - practice always makes you perfect! And the song was 'Perfect' so we did practice a lot (laughs). People liked it and they appreciated the effort.
I wanted to do something very different because there were 83 artists who were going to perform on that day - a lot of them were speaking, a lot of them were singing, a lot of them were doing different things, and I thought, what is it that I could do differently, (something) people have not seen me do? That's why I picked this song, I love it because it's a beautiful song talking about eternal love and I'm a romantic at heart!

Can we expect more music from you soon?
Yes, definitely I'd like to do more music in the future, whether in Hindi or English. I would definitely like to sing more. But right now we are just concentrating on this project, Candle, and seeing the response I'm getting from people.

In these strange times amidst the coronavirus crisis, actors have put their projects on hold and are at home. Do you ever get frustrated or depressed or do you try your best to deal with life, one day at a time?
Yes, everybody is at home, not just the actors. There are people who are working from home but we as actors cannot work from home for our projects where all actors have to come together and be on the set at one time. We are at home but I think we're all finding ways to keep ourselves entertained and entertain others from our homes.
I have restarted my Kathak practice and when I'm not doing Kathak, I work out, I spend a lot of time with my family. Because when we are busy we always complain, oh I don't get enough time to do this, oh I've been wanting to do this for a very long time but I'm not getting time.
Well, now you have time - even though it's compulsory, you have to be at home - but it's time, so make the most of it! Because I really believe, on a funny note, that when life gives you lemons, make lemonade!
So I'm trying to make the most of it and I'm learning a lot because I've to do my own makeup, my own hair, deciding what to wear every time we do something, taking decisions and learning about where to place the camera, going online, talking to people, figuring it out, and my husband has been a very big help. I think he is the 'candle' in my life.
We just take one day at a time and we're doing whatever we can. I have done my own promo from home for Dance Deewane, which is my dance reality show.
The kids are on virtual learning so they have school online but we do spend whatever time we can together because this is the time we have and once we get busy again, I think we shouldn't complain for some time at least (laughs) that we don't get to do things we have always wanted to do.

What is one big lesson you have learned during this time?
I think the lesson is that life is unpredictable and you don't know what tomorrow is going to bring. I don't think anyone ever thought that they would be in a situation like this in their lifetimes. When you are in a very bad situation like a pandemic, how you react to it is very important, how you keep your calm, how you work out what to do.
I think we need to take precautions - when you go out, please wear your mask, when you are at home wash your hands regularly. Take all the precautions that are necessary to be safe.
That's how we decrease the load on the healthcare system because if all of us get sick at the same time they are going to have a hard time! So we just need to do whatever we can in this time.

What message would you like to give your fans here in the UAE?
Thank you for all the love and all the support you have shown me through so many years and I hope that this love affair never ends! Thank you so much.
enid@khaleejtimes.com