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Finally, a naayak to match the ek do teen girl

Komal Nahta in Bombay

Two months after the Ek do teen girl broke ek do teen million hearts with news of her marriage to a non-resident Indian doctor, Madhuri Dixit's parents threw a party to celebrate the wedding of their daughter, youngest of a family of three sisters and one brother. The venue was The Club, a happening place in the suburbs of Bombay.

Invitations for the wedding reception on December 18 had been carefully sent out. Besides her relatives and family friends, only close friends from the industry and people with whom Madhuri had worked were invited. The excitement was palpable as not a single picture of her hubby, Dr Shriram Nene, had been given to the press for two whole months. The excitement to see the new naayak was, therefore, all the more.

It was the marriage of the millennium, as far as Bollywood was concerned. The heart-throb of millions in India and the world over, Madhuri Dixit, got married to Dr Nene on October 17 in the United States. Her saajan must have come like a khalnayak in the lives of her countless fans, many of whose dils went dhak dhak at the very mention of the name of their favourite heroine of more than 10 years.

What does Shriram Nene look like? Is he as handsome as Madhuri is beautiful? Is he tall or short? Fat or slim? Ram, as Madhuri introduced her husband to the string of guests who stood in a long queue to go up the dais to wish the Ram Lakhan girl, is a little taller than his wife. He is as fair as Madhuri, perhaps a little fairer. A very cute and boyish smile is the most charismatic part of his face that lit up every time someone told him what a lovely wife he had.

Besides her thousand watt smile, Madhuri wore a beautiful peach-and-silver ghaghra choli and had minimum make-up. No elaborate hair-do for the new bride -- she simply left her hair open. Nene was attired in a skin-coloured silk kurta churidar with a silk zari sherwani.

A few months ago, Madhuri's father had told yours truly that they were on the lookout for a suitable match for their daughter, but had been unsuccessful so far. "The boy will have to measure up to her high expectations... she will have to bring down her expectations a little," he had said then. Looking at Shriram, one doesn't feel Madhuri may have had to bring down her expectations.

Born in London, the groom's family shifted base to the US when he was still a kid. Being academically inclined and also because he was never in India, he never developed a liking for films. But for a life partner, he chose one of the topmost personalities of the film industry! Shriram was not even aware that his wife-to-be was a film star with such a massive fan-following till he was told about the status Madhuri enjoyed in Bollywood. Said Madhuri's dad, "He simply didn't know that Madhuri was such a popular heroine here in India." The doctor's heart must've surely missed a beat or two on learning of his wife's celebrity status.

The guest list for the wedding reception was quite impressive except that not many of Madhuri's peers could be spotted. Shah Rukh and Aamir, the two hotshot Khans with whom she has done several films, were conspicuous by their absence. Salman, however, did attend. But the old guard was really well represented. Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Yash Chopra, the Barjatya family and Feroz Khan were all there.

Amitabh Bachchan with son Abhishek, Hema Malini, Anupam Kher, Shatrughan Sinha, Sanjay Khan, Randhir, Rishi and Rajiv Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Boney Kapoor, Sridevi, Sanjay Kapoor, Poonam Dhillon, Aruna Irani, Amrish Puri, Prem Chopra, Karan Johar, Tej Sapru, Preeti Sapru, Ashutosh Rana, Renuka Shahane, Shilpa and Namrata Shirodkar were among those who were there to wish the Nenes the very best in life.

There were very few heroines though -- Aishwarya Rai, Sushmita Sen, Karisma Kapoor, Kajol and Urmila Matondkar were not in sight. Neither were Ajay Devgan, Sunil Shetty, Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol and Sanjay Dutt. Madhuri's biggest fan, M F Husain did come despite rumours that the celebrated painter was heart-broken on hearing of her marriage two months back. The right foot of Husain -- who moves around barefoot -- was bandaged. Was it symbolic of someone having stepped on the celebrated painter's toes?

Jokes apart, Madhuri and Shriram greeted Husain with the same warmth and congeniality they displayed for the over three hours that the reception lasted. In fact, Madhuri was in great form, laughing and smiling as she introduced guest after guest to her husband.

Madhuri's sister-in-law (Shriram's sister) got married in Bombay the same morning at Kohinoor Hall at Prabhadevi. So, for the Nene family, 18 December was a day for a double celebration.

As far as the reception went, it was one of the best organised functions in Bollywood. First, there weren't so many invitees that it became like a mela. The guests were all welcomed at the entrance personally by Madhuri's beaming father, sister and long-time secretary, Rikku. Shilpa Shirodkar, who treats Madhuri as her sister, was also at the entrance to receive the guests. Nobody was allowed to leave without having had dinner.

The venue for the reception was tastefully done up. Flowers were used to decorate the stage for the newly-weds as also the open-air ground. Food served was vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian. A Maharashtrian touch was lent by the inclusion of the traditional Maharashtrian dish of zhunka bhakar in the menu.