Dressed in chiffons, Madhuri Dixit started ‘howling' when Anil Kapoor demanded ‘wind from choppers' while shooting in freezing Alaska: ‘My face was frozen'

Indian Express

3 days ago

Madhuri Dixit and Anil Kapoor have appeared in some of the most iconic dance numbers of the 1990s. Anil and Madhuri were often cast opposite each other in this era and during this time, Madhuri was often regarded as one of the top female actors of her generation. In the year 2000, Madhuri and Anil were cast in Rajkumar Santoshi's Pukar, where she was to play a woman who becomes a traitor to her country just so she can be with the man she loves. A small part of the film was shot in Alaska and during the shoot, Madhuri nearly froze wearing a thin chiffon saree.
During an earlier appearance on The Kapil Sharma Show, Anil and Madhuri recalled the time when they shot the song 'Kismat Se Tum Hum Ko Mile' in Alaska amid the snow capped mountains. Anil shared that the temperature around them was around -30 or -40 degree celsius. 'I was taking a lot of interest in the costume so I suggested that Madhuri should be in a chiffon saree but I was wearing 6-7 layers,' he shared with a laugh. Madhuri, who was sitting next to him, added, 'He was wearing a sweater, a few layers under that, a jacket on top, big boots, muffler and gloves while I was in chiffons.'
Anil further recalled, 'So there was a lot of wind when we were shooting but then suddenly the wind stopped. Since we needed the wind for continuity, I suggested that we should get the chopper to fly on top.' Madhuri then narrated her experience as she was shooting in biting cold wearing a thin saree. 'I was turning blue with every minute. You couldn't even tell if I was lip syncing because my face was frozen. And here, Anil was yelling, 'get the chopper down because her saree isn't flying'. But as the chopper came down, I started shivering even more. For the first time in my life, I started yelling and crying loudly,' she said. Madhuri shared she started screaming, 'I cannot do this anymore' and everyone in the unit 'got scared.'
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The song was choreographed by Farah Khan and in an earlier vlog shared on her channel, she said that producer Boney Kapoor, who is also Anil's brother, would use 'helicopters like rickshaws' during their time in Alaska. She said, 'We were in a remote corner of Alaska, which is like the North Pole and Boney laid out a spread of butter chicken, naan, biryani, paneer and dal makhani. I was like 'what is happening!'. He found some Indian cook and ferried everything there. Chopper was being used like Dunzo for delivery.'