Paparazzi culture used to bother me, but now my kids have become used to it: Madhuri Dixit Nene

The actor talks about how the paparazzi culture used to bother her and her kids but now they don’t really care as they prefer to maintain a low profile

Whether it’s the celebs or their children, the paparazzi culture has spared none. So when the ‘Dhak Dhak’ girl Madhuri Dixit Nene returned to India in 2011 with her family, she found the constant glare of the paparazzi on herself and her family, especially her children — Arin Nene and Raayan Nene (now 16 and 14 respectively) — disturbing.

Madhuri Dixit Nene doesn’t like to hog all the limelight (Photo: Yogen Shah)

“When I returned to India with my family, the paparazzi culture had grown so much that my kids and I were chased everywhere we would go and photographers would keep a close watch to our movements,” says Madhuri.

The actor admits that while it used to “bother” her a lot back then, “because my children were too young to understand all this”, she is quick to add that now that her sons are grown up, “they have become used to it, so it doesn’t really affects us. They just keep themselves busy in their school work and activities.”

The 51-year-old actor, who was last seen in Kalank and is currently busy putting together her first English music album, further says, “We are like any other normal family and thus, have managed to keep a low profile with my kids in the media. Fans also understand that for me some things are private and they will always be that way and they respect that. I don’t have to put every waking day of my life on social media. But for me, it is keeping in touch with them, letting them know what’s happening.”

The actor, once the highest-paid in Bollywood, recalls that before she took a break from cinema in 2002, after her marriage, the paparazzi culture was very different. “Even when we would be casually dressed, or oiled our hair and had stepped out for some work, photographers would take pictures. But we never took it as an opportunity to make a fashion statement, which is the case now,” she says.

The actor points out that “the kind of media we’ve today, being papped all the time while trying to keep one’s private life private has become very challenging. I don’t like to hog all the limelight, so I don’t make too many public appearances or get snapped,” Madhuri adds.