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Dr Shriram Nene opens up about marriage with Madhuri Dixit, her stardom and their love story, revealing he had never seen her films before they met.
Shriram Nene says Madhuri Dixit’s stardom never intimidated him.
Madhuri Dixit and Dr Shriram Nene have often spoken about how differently their relationship began from what many might expect of a marriage involving one of Hindi cinema’s biggest stars. When the two first met, Dr Nene had barely any idea about the scale of Madhuri’s fame in India. He had not watched her films and, by his own admission, did not know much about her professional career.
Years later, he says that perhaps the most important part of their marriage has been seeing each other first as individuals rather than through the weight of their respective achievements.
In a recent interview with CNBC-TV18, Dr Nene spoke at length about his marriage with Madhuri, the attention that comes with being her husband, why her fame never made him feel insecure and how their relationship grew from a semi-arranged match into a partnership built on mutual respect.
“I am extremely proud of her,” he said while speaking about Madhuri’s stature and accomplishments.
Dr Nene Says Madhuri’s Fame Never Intimidated Him
Asked how the two managed to build a relationship of equals despite coming from very different professional worlds, Dr Nene said both of them were secure in what they had achieved individually.
“I think both of us were kind of secure in our own knowledge of what we have done,” he said.
At the same time, he admitted that being married to someone as famous as Madhuri can occasionally be daunting and requires adjustment.
“I won’t question for a second that it’s daunting sometimes and you have to adapt. I trained at UCLA, where we took care of a lot of the celebrities from Hollywood. The only thing they really wanted was anonymity,” he said.
That experience, according to him, helped him understand fame from a slightly different perspective. Long before he married Madhuri, he had already interacted professionally with well-known personalities while working as a doctor.
What mattered more to him when he met Madhuri was not her career but the person he got to know.
“To be honest with you, she is the most down-to-earth, lovely person you will ever meet. I saw commonalities in both of us,” he said.
For Dr Nene, those similarities became a stronger foundation for their relationship than celebrity or professional status.
‘It Was A Semi-Arranged Marriage’
Dr Nene also looked back at how his relationship with Madhuri began.
He described their marriage as “semi-arranged”, explaining that the two spent around three months dating before he proposed.
“It was a semi-arranged marriage. We dated for three months and then, I proposed because we had both done a lot for our careers,” he said.
One of the most frequently discussed aspects of their love story is that Dr Nene did not know much about Madhuri’s work when they first met.
He confirmed that he had never seen her films before their marriage.
“I didn’t know what she had done in her professional career. I had never seen her films before getting married. What I saw was someone who was amazing and we just hit it off,” he said.
For him, the connection was far more immediate than any understanding of her public image.
“When you find your soulmate, you know,” Dr Nene added.
Madhuri married Dr Nene in the United States in 1999. At the time, she stepped back from her acting career and moved away from India as the couple began building their life together.
They later became parents to two sons, Arin and Ryan.
Their Middle-Class Upbringing Helped Keep Them Grounded
Dr Nene also credited their upbringing for shaping the way they approached both life and relationships.
He said children absorb a great deal from watching their parents and the people around them, and he believes the values both he and Madhuri grew up with helped them remain grounded despite their accomplishments.
“If you treat everyone with dignity, from the top to the bottom, and keep the way you were raised in mind — our middle-class upbringing was actually a benefit. Not to say that where you came from matters, because I have met so many people out there,” he said.
According to him, the principle of treating people with dignity has remained central to the way he looks at relationships.
That approach, he suggested, also carries into how he and Madhuri deal with the very different kinds of attention that come with her fame.
Dr Nene even joked about one unexpected advantage of being associated with a major film star.
“You get restaurant reservations. Sometimes that can be very difficult,” he quipped.
Dr Nene On Being Known As ‘Madhuri Dixit’s Husband’
The doctor also addressed something he regularly encounters: people wanting to speak with him because he is married to Madhuri.
Rather than being bothered by it, Dr Nene said he has learnt to take it in stride.
“You treat people like a human being first. It is not always easy. I mean, we were discussing this… I was like everyone wants to interview me because of her sometimes. But, I am not bothered in the least bit. You use what you have got when you need to. But when they meet me, they realise that I am the real deal too,” he said.
Dr Nene made it clear that he does not see himself as someone who exists only in the shadow of his wife’s fame.
He pointed out that when the couple lived in the United States, the situation was almost the reverse.
“I don’t think you would say that I am just there falsely living on someone else’s coattails. In her case, in the US, no one knew who she was and I was the heart surgeon. I recognise her stature here is on another level and I am very proud of her. And I mean it when I say this that there are very few people like her,” he said.
For him, the difference in how they were recognised in India and the US never became a source of competition.
Instead, he said he remains proud of Madhuri and fully aware of the position she occupies in Indian cinema.
‘She Is A Generational Talent’
Dr Nene went on to praise Madhuri not just as his wife but also for what she has accomplished professionally.
“She is a generational talent. When you meet her, you will realise she won’t strike you as someone who’s done everything she’s done,” he said.
That contrast between Madhuri’s professional stature and the way she carries herself personally is something he repeatedly returned to during the conversation.
Despite decades of fame and a career that made her one of Hindi cinema’s most recognised actors, Dr Nene said she remained grounded and approachable in his experience.
His comments also reflected how differently the two entered the marriage. Madhuri came into it after years of success in the film industry, while Dr Nene was established in medicine and had built his career as a heart surgeon.
For him, that individual sense of identity helped both of them approach the relationship without allowing one person’s profession to overshadow the other’s.
Madhuri And Dr Nene Have Been Married Since 1999
Madhuri and Dr Nene tied the knot in 1999 in the United States.
The marriage surprised many of her fans at the time, particularly because Madhuri was at the height of her popularity in Hindi cinema.
She subsequently took a step back from acting as the couple started a family. Over the years, they have continued speaking openly about their marriage, their move between the United States and India and the life they built with their sons, Arin and Ryan.
For Dr Nene, however, the story of their relationship remains much simpler than the fame surrounding it.
He met someone whose professional accomplishments he barely knew, found that they connected on a personal level, dated her for three months and decided to propose.
More than two decades later, he says he remains proud of everything Madhuri has achieved, while never feeling diminished by the attention attached to being married to her.
Quick Answers
Ask News18When they first met, Dr Shriram Nene had barely any idea about the scale of Madhuri Dixit’s fame in India. He had not watched her films and did not know much about her professional career, seeing her first as an individual rather than through her celebrity status.
Ask News18About the Author
Yatamanyu Narain is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for all things entertainment. Whether he\’s breaking the latest Bollywood news or chatting with rising stars in the OTT world, he’s always…Read More
October 24, 2026, 22:57 IST