Madhuri Dixit's husband, Sriram Nene, says he didn't see her as wife material initially: 'I thought actors were completely crazy'

When Dr. Shriram Nene met Madhuri Dixit, he had no idea she was the most celebrated actress of her era. It was 1999, and Madhuri was a reigning icon of Indian cinema. But to Dr. Nene—a heart surgeon raised in Los Angeles—her fame meant nothing. His world was rooted in medicine and logic, not in movie sets and spotlights.

Dr. Nene had never considered marrying someone from the entertainment industry. His experience in LA, where he was surrounded by Hollywood elites, left him disillusioned. “Growing up in Los Angeles, I met a lot of people from the film scene,” he once shared during a Google Fireside Chat, “and honestly, it wasn’t impressive. It was chaotic, dramatic. That lifestyle didn’t appeal to me.”

He barely spoke Hindi and never watched Indian films. Though his parents were originally from Mumbai and he could understand Marathi, he was far removed from Indian pop culture. “Bollywood was a foreign world to me,” he admitted.

Everything shifted when he met Madhuri’s brother. “He was grounded, humble, and resonated with our values. After meeting him, I was open to meeting her,” Dr. Nene explained. Out of curiosity, he even did a quick online search—just to understand who he was about to meet.

Their first encounter wasn’t filled with starstruck awe. “I didn’t treat her like a celebrity,” Dr. Nene recalled. “In LA, I learned that people, no matter how famous, are just human. They all live ordinary lives behind the glamor. What drew me to Madhuri wasn’t her status—it was her simplicity, her honesty, her clarity of purpose. Those qualities were rare, especially in the film industry. She was genuine.”

Madhuri playfully interrupted during the interview, saying, “He had no clue what he was signing up for!”

After their wedding, Madhuri embraced life in the U.S. Living in Denver gave her a taste of anonymity. “I could just be myself,” she later said. But the call of cinema never left her. She returned to films in the mid-2000s.

Reflecting on their return, Madhuri shared, “It felt like starting all over. In Denver, I was free to go anywhere. Here, I need to be careful. Sometimes I wear big sunglasses or a hat, hoping to blend in. But someone always recognizes me and softly asks, ‘Can I get your autograph’?”

At the height of her cinematic fame, Madhuri Dixit tied the knot with Dr. Shriram Nene in 1999, embracing a traditional Maharashtrian wedding that beautifully blended heritage with heartfelt celebration. Shortly after, she made the bold choice to step away from the limelight, embarking on a new chapter of life in Denver, Colorado, where Shriram was building his career as a cardiovascular surgeon.

In the quiet rhythms of suburban America, they welcomed two sons, Arin and Ryan, and built a life grounded in family and purpose. After over a decade abroad, the family returned to India in 2011, marking a graceful re-entry into the world Madhuri had once ruled, this time with renewed perspective and balance.