By the mid-1990s, Bollywood had changed drastically in both narrative and celebrity. Although it had a high-calibre cast and audiences to follow, David Dhawan’s ‘Yaraana’ (1995) flopped at the box office. After the stardom of late actor Rishi Kapoor started to fade, it was Madhuri Dixit who made her way onto the big screen with a performance that would subsequently become legendary.
The film and the performanceAt the centre of ‘Yaraana’ is Madhuri Dixit’s energetic dance number “Mera Piya Ghar Aaya”. Sung by Kavita Krishnamurthy, with the choreography soaring to a high climax, the song featured Madhuri at her best — expressive, graceful, and magnetic. This little extra turned the film, despite being a commercial flop, into a cultural reference that will always live in Bollywood’s memory.
The storylineIn the movie, Lalita (Madhuri Dixit) is an over-the-top dancer who is swooning over JB (Raj Babbar), a madman who is obsessed and abusive and he wants to marry her despite her unwillingness. When Lalita bursts onto the scene—taking on a new name and breaking free from his grasp—she meets Raj (Rishi Kapoor), who loves, provides security, and cares for her. But JB, who finds out her secret, soon learns her story, an early stage for a clash of freedom, fear, and endurance to unfold.