3 min readMumbaiJun 2, 2026 12:07 PM IST
One of the most memorable moments in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas remains the powerful face-off between Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Beautifully written, staged, and performed, the scene brings together two women from vastly different worlds, meeting at a crossroads defined by love, pride, and heartbreak. Dramatic yet deeply emotional, it continues to be regarded as one of the film’s finest sequences.
‘Reminded me of Silsila’
Recently, Madhuri herself reflected on the iconic scene and even drew a comparison to Yash Chopra’s classic Silsila. Speaking to Zoom, the actor recalled filming the much-loved confrontation between her character Chandramukhi and Aishwarya’s Paro. “I think that was my only day scene because other than this, we had all night shoots. So, 40 night shoots and only one day scene.”
She added, “But it was an amazing scene where she (Aishwarya) comes from a place of power and pride, and my character comes from humility, you know. She knows that Devdas can never be hers. But she’s taunting her, ‘Tum kharidne aayi ho Devdas ko humse,’ that you have to buy him from me. He’s not yours. And so that was a beautiful scene where we are contrasting two different people coming into one scene.”
Madhuri went on to reveal that a particular shot from the sequence reminded her of another iconic Hindi film. “One shot in particular, where Paro and Chandramukhi are standing adjacent to each other, reminded me of Silsila. The way Jaya ji and Rekha ji were standing there. So when I saw it, it was like, ‘Oh, the framing is very much like that.’ But it was a beautifully, lyrically written scene.”
A still from Silsila.
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Being pregnant while filming Dola Re Dola
Meanwhile, in an exclusive conversation with SCREEN, Madhuri also addressed the long-standing speculation about whether she was four months pregnant while filming the iconic song “Dola Re Dola.” “Arin is born in 2003. So, you do the math,” said Madhuri, laughing.
Arin Nene, her elder son, was born on March 17, 2003. Devdas, meanwhile, released in theatres on July 12, 2002, after premiering at the Cannes Film Festival on May 23 that year. Madhuri further clarified that while the shoot was physically demanding, the rumours about her pregnancy during filming were unfounded. “I was under the weather because I was travelling a lot. I was going back and forth, shooting here and going back. And all my shoots were night shoots. So, for me, it was very gruelling. I was a little under the weather, but nothing like that,”
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Madhuri Dixit will next be seen in Maa Behen, which is slated to release this Friday.
