“I was pleasantly surprised when I heard the news. It was great to know that years of work has been acknowledged,” says Dixit who is in Mumbai at present with husband Dr Shriram Nene, after collecting her award in Delhi.

Dixit was her glamorous self in her last film, but the movie’s weak plot failed her. Though people felt the Dhak Dhak girl was wasted in this Yash Raj Films venture, Dixit begs to differ. “It was a good role, something very similar to my life,” she says. “Hits and misses are part of our lives. I never got unduly carried away by hits, nor got bothered by flops.”

Films and box office no longer make a difference in Dixit’s life—she sounds just like any other ordinary homemaker who loves to talk about her children and husband. “My family has seen Aaja Nachle and they loved it. My elder son is sometimes curious why I am known as ‘Madhuri Dixit’,” she says. “I didn’t bring my children to India this time because this is a short trip. We will be returning home in the next few days.”

There are no plans of acting in a Hindi film anytime soon, though she had taken home some scripts the last time she left Mumbai. “It’s true that I took back some scripts. But I haven’t yet decided on anything,” Dixit casually says. “But I never said that I would quit movies. I may act in one film in one year or even in two years.”

Dixit belongs to the rare league of (women) superstars in Hindi films, who reigned for more than a decade and were dependable names for distributors—a rare phenomenon for today’s heroines.

“I started acting very innocently. I didn’t know what acting was all about. Ironically, films were never a long-term plan for me,” she says.

Dixit debuted with the dud Abodh in 1986, but became the country’s darling with the 1988-hit Tezaab. Through the next 15 years, her popularity reached a summit as she continued her successful run with films like Ram Lakhan, Dil, Beta, Sailab, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun and Devdas.

Now, at the end of her colourful journey, the former leading lady does not miss her heyday. “I have no time to miss Bollywood,” she insists. “Looking after my kids is like acting in two big films.”