'Madhuri is as nimble as ever in Aaja Nachle'

Mumbai: Madhuri Dixit, one of Bollywood's biggest stars whose dancing sizzled the screen for years, will play a choreographer who returns to her roots in a film marking her comeback to acting after six years.

At 42, Dixit's return is eagerly watched by an industry where men play romantic heroes well into their 50s but leading ladies start losing their appeal — and roles — by the time they reach 30 or get married.

Dixit's career began two decades ago and she quickly won recognition for her acting skills and nubile dancing. Now married with two children and living in the United States, Dixit has lost none of her screen allure, says the director of her comeback film Aaja Nachle, a musical with several dance scenes due to premiere next week.

"We thought it would take a little time for her to come back to her groove after six years but she proved us wrong," Anil Mehta told Reuters.

"She was always doing everything with perfection, a quality you associate Madhuri with." Mehta said the actress, who began her career as a little-known model, is as nimble as ever, executing Western moves, Indian classical dancing or even raunchy Bollywood gyrations in mid-riff baring saris with ease.

The film tells the story of a passionate dancer who makes it big as a choreographer and moves to live in the United States. She returns to India after hearing that her dance guru was on his deathbed and after he passes away, she devotes herself to saving a theatre where she learnt dancing as a child.

"It is her fight to save her roots from dying," Mehta said. "We could not think of any other actress to play the lead role of a film that had so many dance portions other than Madhuri." Mehta said his team was so mesmerised with Dixit's dancing that all they did during post-production was watch the scenes of her dancing again and again. "She is as graceful as she was and she is back with her best in the film," he said.