Madhuri Dixit’s Lifelike Cutouts from ‘Prem Deewane’ Fooled Aamir Khan

The actress recounted the amusing anecdote during an appearance on the popular reality game show ‘Kon Honar Crorepati’.

Filmmaker Sachin Pilgaonkar, who directed ‘Prem Deewane’, also shed light on the meticulous process behind creating these lifelike cutouts. Madhuri recalled a friend visiting the set who mistook one of the cutouts for the real actress. “A friend of mine had come to the set while we were shooting. She arrived a little late and went straight to the set while I was in my room. Suddenly, she came into my room running and said, ‘Madhuri, what are those cutouts you have put up there? I went up to one and started talking before realising it was a cutout!’” Madhuri explained.

Pilgaonkar elaborated that these cutouts were integral to the film’s plot, where Jackie Shroff’s character lives surrounded by images of Madhuri’s character after their separation. “That was my idea. I wanted them to look as lifelike as possible, so we measured Madhuri’s exact height and did a special photo shoot. We spent an entire day photographing her in different outfits and looks for those cutouts,” Sachin stated.

He further revealed that Aamir Khan, who was shooting nearby and dropped in to meet Pilgaonkar, also fell for the illusion. “The same thing happened with Aamir. He walked in, looked around and spotted one of the cutouts. For a moment, he thought it was Madhuri and waved to the cutout! I told him, ‘That’s a cutout.’ They had been made so beautifully. It was fun creating them and shooting those scenes. We really enjoyed ourselves,” Pilgaonkar reminisced.

‘Prem Deewane’, a romantic drama produced by Ashok Ghai, featured Jackie Shroff, Madhuri Dixit, Vivek Mushran, and Pooja Bhatt. Its music, composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal with lyrics by Anand Bakshi, included hit songs like “Pi Pi Piya” and “Mohabbat Zindabad”.