Madhuri mesmerises at 45

Madhuri Dixit's million dollar smile made every man's heart go Dhak Dhak just that little bit faster. She's 45 today, and her luminous charm is undimmed. The actress is all set to light up the big screen once again with Vishal Bharadwaj's Dedh Ishqiya, a sequel to the Vidya Balan film Ishqiya.

Madhuri confirmed the news on Twitter, saying: "Hey guys, back in action. On sets for Star's Life OK. Am doing Dedh Ishqiya. Jhalak right around the corner. More to come!."

The shooting of the movie will begin in September. The actress wrote on Twitter, "Dedh Ishqiya to start shooting in September. Excited."

The 45-year-old also returns as judge on the fifth season of dance reality show Jhalak Dikhla Jaa. The promos for the show are already on air, and she will share the judges' seat with filmmaker Karan Johar and choreographer Remo D'Souza.

The promos feature Madhuri, among the finest dancers Bollywood has ever produced, paying tribute to Meena Kumari, Mumtaz and Sridevi.

Madhuri Dixit recently received this year's Deenanath Mangeshkar award from legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar at a glittering ceremony held in Mumbai.

That's not all, Madhuri Dixit is also the latest Bollywood star to join the galaxy of wax celebrities in Madame Tussaud's. She unveiled her statue in October last year, saying, "I am thrilled to be here in Madame Tussaud's unveiling a wax figure of myself. It's incredible just how detailed the figure is - they have captured my look beautifully! I feel very humbled to be included alongside other Bollywood stars and some of my personal heroes."

As the beautiful and talented actress turns a year older, we gift her a life-recap on her 45th birthday…

Madhuri was born on May 15, 1967 to Shankar and Snehlata Dixit. She is the youngest sibling and has two elder sisters, Rupa and Bharathi, and an elder brother, Ajit. She attended Divine Child High School and then went to Mumbai University.

Madhuri is a trained Kathak dancer. At one point of time her ambition was to become a microbiologist.

After she made it big in Bollywood, Madhuri was linked to many of her co-stars, notably Sanjay Dutt. Both stars have been tight-lipped about the rumoured affair.

She was also rumoured to have had a liaison with with Mithun Chakraborty.

In 1999, Madhuri Dixit married Shriram Madhav Nene, a cardiovascular surgeon from Denver. Dr Nene is from a Marathi Konkanastha Brahmin family. They have two sons, Arin and Raayan.

Films happened to Madhuri by chance. She appeared in her first movie, Abodh, in 1984 opposite Bengali actor Tapas Pal. The movie, which was made by Sooraj Barjatya, didn't do well at the box office.

Post Abodh, Madhuri was relegated to minor roles in movies like Vardi and Dayavan. Her bold love-making scenes with Vinod Khanna in Dayavan made headlines then.

Almost four years after her debut, Madhuri was just Ek, DO, Teen steps away from superstardom. She finally got her big break with Tezaab in 1988 and scored her first Filmfare nomination for Best Actress.

Tezaab made the Madhuri-Anil Kapoor Jodi hugely popular and the two were seen together in other hit movies like Ram Lakhan, Parinda and Kishen Kanhaiya to name a few.

In 1990, Madhuri did Indra Kumar's Dil, which was her first movie with Aamir Khan. She played the role of a rich, arrogant girl in the film. Dil went on to become a huge success at the box office and Madhuri won her first Filmfare Best Actress Award.

The very next year Madhuri starred in love triangle Saajan with Sanjay Dutt and Salman Khan. The movie became a huge hit as did it's soundtrack.

By this time Madhuri had carved her niche in Bollywood. The actress continued her winning streak with Beta, which fetched her a second Filmfare Best Actress Award.

Her sultry dance moves in the song Dhak Dhak Karne Laga took her from girl next door to seductress.

Post Beta she appeared in a string of moderately successful films Khel, Prem Diwane, Sangeet and Dharavi.

In 1993, came Subhash Ghai's Khalnayak, which again had a hit dance number, the risque Choli Ke Peeche. The movie also starred Sanjay Dutt and Jackie Shroff. According to reports, the Madhuri-Sanjay romance was now in full bloom, only to be nipped in the bud with Sanjay's involvement in the Mumbai blast case.

Sooraj Barjatya's Hum Aapke Hain Kaun! released in 1994 and became one of the biggest blockbusters ever in the history of Hindi cinema. The movie, which had Salman Khan playing the lead, won Madhuri her third Filmfare Best Actress Award.

Madhuri was also nominated in the same category for her performance in Anjaam, in which she starred opposite Shah Rukh Khan.

In 1997, Madhuri appeared in her first Yash Chopra movie Dil To Paagal Hai. The film, which also starred Shah Rukh Khan and Karisma Kapur, set cash registers ringing and Madhuri won her fourth Filmfare Best Actress award.

Despite her huge commercial success, Madhuri didn't shy away from experimenting in art house movies. She signed Prakash Jha's Mrityudand. It won the Best Feature Film award at the Cinéma Tout Ecran in Geneva and the Bangkok Film Festival. Her performance in the film landed her the Best Actress award at the annual Star Screen Awards.

Madhuri is famous not just for her acting talent but also for her dancing. At a time when item girls were rare, Madhuri's dance sequences were often the best reason to watch a movie. These included Ek, Do, Teen (from Tezaab), Humko Aaj Kal Hai (from Sailaab), Bada Dukh Deena (from Ram Lakhan), Dhak Dhak (from Beta), Chane Ke Khet Mein (from Anjaam), Didi Tera Devar Deewana (from Hum Aapke Hain Kaun!), Choli Ke Peechhe (from Khalnayak), Akhiyan Milaun (from Raja), Mera Piya Ghar Aaya (from Yaarana), Kay Sera Sera (from Pukar), Maar Daala (from Devdas). Most of these songs have been choreographed by Saroj Khan.

After her marriage, Madhuri had taken a break from Bollywood. She returned to the big screen as Chandramukhi in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas. She won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for the movie.

Madhuri Dixit was also the muse for the late painter MF Husain, who considered her the epitome of womanhood. He also made a movie with her called Gaja Gamini.

Madhuri's was last seen on the big screen in Aaja Nachle, which released in 2007. The movie did not click with the audience.

In 2008, Madhuri received the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award for her contribution to the Indian cinema.