Exclusive: Madhuri Dixit Calls Vidya Balan "OG Manjulika," Talks About Her "Infectious" Personality

Madhuri Dixit is basking in the success of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3. In the Anees Bazmee-directed film, Madhuri essays the dual roles of Mandira, ACP Rathore, and Anjulika. On Friday, the actress sat down for a chat with NDTV, where she spoke about her co-stars – Vidya Balan, Kartik Aaryan and Triptii Dimri. When asked about Vidya's infectious smile, Madhuri said, “She is very infectious, even as a person. Pehle din se hi jab humne set pe ek saath kaam kiya to aise laga ki mai bahut vakt se Vidya ke saath kaam kar rahi hu. [From the very first day when we worked together on set, it felt like I had been working with Vidya for a long time.]”

Calling Vidya Balan the “OG Manjulika”, Madhuri Dixit added, “I have seen her on screen. I have seen her in Bhool Bhulaiyaa 1 and I think she is the OG Manjulika because the way she played the character was fabulous.” Talking about the iconic track Ami Je Tomar, Madhuri mentioned, “And of course, the song, jo amar hai aaj tak, I had seen part 1, part 2. I had seen her perform. I admire her as an actress. Toh unke saath jab kaam kar rahi thi to bahut mazaa aya. [So, when I was working with her, I had a lot of fun.] Because she is very spontaneous on the set. She is like me in a lot of ways. Aur hum dono ki bahut achhi bani. [We all had a good time.] And of course, there is Kartik (Aaryan) who is a mischief maker and there is Vidya, who is also a mischief maker. Toh hum logo ne bahut masti ki. [We had a lot of fun.]

Madhuri Dixit playfully recalled how everyone used to boss Kartik Aaryan around on the set of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3. She said, “Kartik abhi chota hai. Toh hum thoda sa boss bhi karte the usey. He is very sweet. Triptii Dimri - she is also very sweet. Unke saath bhi kaam tha. Pura hamara jo mahol vaha pe bana tha, it was like a family. All the artists, we were all together on the sets. We used to joke around, masti karte the. Kisi ko rag kar lete the, bahut masti kri humne set pe. It was like a family coming together. [Kartik is very young, so we used to boss him around a bit. He is very sweet. Triptii Dimri – she is also very sweet. I also worked with her. The whole atmosphere on the set was like a family. All the artists, we were all together. We used to joke around, have fun and mess with each other. We had a lot of fun on set. It was like a family coming together.]”

Describing director Anees Bazmee as the “leader” of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, Madhuri Dixit concluded, “Our leader is Anees bhai. Toh vo to khud hi itne ache insaan hai. Toh sabke saath mil jate the. [So, he himself is such a good person. He would get along with everyone.] He created such a nice atmosphere for all of us.”

Released on November 1, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 locked horns with Singham Again at the box office. The horror-comedy also features Rajpal Yadav, Vijay Raaz and Sanjay Mishra in important roles.