Bust of Homer, ancient Greek epic poet.

Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or Classical Civilization) is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world (Bronze Age ca. BC 3000 – Late Antiquity ca. AD 300–600); especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity (ca. BC 600 – AD 600). Initially, the study of the Classics (the period's literature) was the principal study in the humanities.

History of the Western Classics[link]

The word “classics” is derived from the Latin adjective classicus: “belonging to the highest class of citizens”, connoting superiority, authority, and perfection. The first “Classic” writer was Aulus Gellius, a 2nd-century Roman writer who, in the miscellany Noctes Atticae (19, 8, 15), refers to a writer as a Classicus scriptor, non proletarius(“A distinguished, not a commonplace writer”). Such classification began with the Greeks’ ranking their cultural works, with the word canon (“carpenter’s rule”). Moreover, early Christian Church Fathers used canon to rank the authoritative texts of the New Testament, preserving them, given the expense of vellum and papyrus and mechanical book reproduction, thus, being comprehended in a canon ensured a book’s preservation as the best way to retain information about a civilization. Contemporarily, the Western canon defines the best of Western culture. In the ancient world, at the Alexandrian Library, scholars coined the Greek term Hoi enkrithentes (“the admitted”, “the included”) to identify the writers in the canon.

The method of study in the Classical World was “Philo’s Rule”: (lit.: "strike the divine coin anew")—the law of strict continuity in preserving words and ideas.^[1] Although the definitions of words and ideas might broaden, continuity (preservation) requires retention of their original arete (excellence, virtue, goodness). “Philo’s Rule” imparts intellectual and aesthetic appreciation of “the best, which has been thought and said in the world”. Oxford classicist Edward Copleston said that classical education “communicates to the mind…a high sense of honor, a disdain of death in a good cause, [and] a passionate devotion to the welfare of one’s country”,^[2] thus concurring with Cicero that: “All literature, all philosophical treatises, all the voices of antiquity are full of examples for imitation, which would all lie unseen in darkness without the light of literature”.

Legacy of the Classical World[link]

The classical languages of the Ancient Mediterranean world influenced every European language, imparting to each a learned vocabulary of international application. Thus, Latin grew from a highly developed cultural product of the Golden and Silver eras of Latin literature to become the international lingua franca in matters diplomatic, scientific, philosophic and religious, until the 17th century. In turn, the classical languages continued, Latin evolved into the Romance languages and Ancient Greek into Modern Greek and its dialects. In the specialised science and technology vocabularies, the influence of Latin and Greek is notable. Ecclesiastical Latin, the Roman Catholic Church’s official tongue, remains a living legacy of the classical world to the contemporary world.

Sub-disciplines within the classics[link]

One of the most notable characteristics of the modern study of classics is the diversity of the field. Although traditionally focused on ancient Greece and Rome, the study now encompasses the entire ancient Mediterranean world, thus expanding their studies to Northern Africa and parts of the Middle East.

Philology[link]

There is a surviving tradition of Latin philology in Western culture connecting the Roman Empire with the Early Modern period.^[3] The philology of Greek survived in the Byzantine Empire until the fall of Constantinople, and was re-introduced in Western Europe in the Renaissance.

Classical philology was a major preoccupation of the 19th-century German^{[clarification needed]} education system, which became "the paradigm for higher education" throughout Western culture.^{[dubious – discuss]}

Although less dominant than it used to be, philology retains a central role in classical studies.^[4]

One definition of classical philology describes it as "the science which concerns itself with everything that has been transmitted from antiquity in the Greek or Latin language. The object of this science is thus the Graeco-Roman, or Classical, world to the extent that it has left behind monuments in a linguistic form."^[5] or alternatively as "the careful study of the literary and philosophical texts of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds."^[6]

Before the invention of the printing press, texts were reproduced by hand and distributed haphazardly. As a result, extant versions of the same text often differ from one another. Some classical philologists, known as textual critics, seek to synthesize these defective texts to find the most accurate version.

Important scholars in classical philology included Eduard Norden, Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, Franz Boll and Károly Kerényi.

Archaeology[link]

Classical archaeology is the investigation of the physical remains of the great Mediterranean civilizations of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. The archaeologists’ field, laboratory, library, and documentation work make available the extant literary and linguistic cultural artefacts to the field’s sub-disciplines, such as Philology. Like-wise, archaeologists rely upon the philology of ancient literatures in establishing historic contexts among the classic-era remains of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

Art history[link]

Some art historians focus their study of the development of art on the classical world. Indeed, the art and architecture of Ancient Rome and Greece is very well regarded and remains at the heart of much of our art today. For example, Ancient Greek architecture gave us the Classical Orders: Doric order, Ionic order, and Corinthian order. The Parthenon is still the architectural symbol of the classical world.

Greek sculpture is well known and we know the names of several Ancient Greek artists: for example, Phidias.

Civilization and history[link]

With philology, archaeology, and art history, scholars seek understanding of the history and culture of a civilisation, through critical study of the extant literary and physical artefacts, in order to compose and establish a continual historic narrative of the Ancient World and its peoples. The task is difficult, given the dearth of physical evidence; for example, Sparta was a leading Greek city-state, yet little evidence of it survives to study, and what is available comes from Athens, Sparta’s principal rival; like-wise, the Roman Empire destroyed most evidence (cultural artefacts) of earlier, conquered civilizations, such as that of the Etruscans.

Philosophy[link]

Pythagoras coined the word philosophy (“love of wisdom”), the work of the “Philosopher” who seeks understanding of the world as it is, thus, most classics scholars recognize that the roots of Western philosophy originate in Greek philosophy, the works of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoics.

Classical Greece[link]

Ancient Greece is the civilization belonging to the period of Greek history lasting from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to 146 BC and the Roman conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth. At the center of this time period is Classical Greece, which flourished during the 5th to 4th centuries BC, at first under Athenian leadership successfully repelling the military threat of Persian invasion. The Athenian Golden Age ends with the defeat of Athens at the hands of Sparta in the Peloponnesian War in 404 BC.

Classical Greek culture had a powerful influence on the Roman Empire, which carried a version of it to many parts of the Mediterranean region and Europe, for which reason Classical Greece is generally considered to be the seminal culture which provided the foundation of Western civilization.

Language in ancient Greece[link]

Ancient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning the Archaic (c. 9th–6th centuries BC), Classical (c. 5th–4th centuries BC), and Hellenistic (c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD) periods of ancient Greece and the ancient world. It is predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek. Its Hellenistic phase is known as Koine ("common") or Biblical Greek, and its late period mutates imperceptibly into Medieval Greek. Koine is regarded as a separate historical stage of its own, although in its earlier form it closely resembles Classical Greek. Prior to the Koine period, Greek of the classic and earlier periods included several regional dialects.

Ancient Greek was the language of Homer and of classical Athenian historians, playwrights, and philosophers. It has contributed many words to English vocabulary and has been a standard subject of study in Western educational institutions since the Renaissance. Latinized forms of Ancient Greek roots are used in many of the scientific names of species and in scientific terminology.

Ancient Greek literature[link]

Alfred North Whitehead once claimed that all of philosophy is but a footnote to Plato. To suggest that all of Western literature is no more than a footnote to the writings of ancient Greece is an exaggeration, but it is nevertheless true that the Greek world of thought was so far-ranging that there is scarcely an idea discussed today not already debated by the ancient writers. At the beginning of Greek literature stand the two monumental works of Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey. The Greeks invented the epic and lyric forms of tragedy and used them skillfully. They also invented drama and produced masterpieces that are still reckoned as drama's crowning achievement. Like tragedy, comedy arose from a ritual in honor of Dionysus, but in this case the plays were full of frank obscenity, abuse, and insult. At Athens the comedies became an official part of the festival celebration in 486 BC, and prizes were offered for the best productions.

Two of the most famous historians who have ever written flourished during Greece's classical age: Herodotus and Thucydides. Herodotus is commonly called the father of history, and his "History" contains the first truly literary use of prose in Western literature. Of the two, Thucydides was the more careful historian. His critical use of sources, inclusion of documents, and laborious research made his History of the Peloponnesian War a significant influence on later generations of historians. The greatest achievement of the 4th century was in philosophy. There were many Greek philosophers, but three names tower above the rest: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. It is impossible to calculate the enormous influence these thinkers have had on Western society .

Greek mythology and religion[link]

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece. Modern scholars refer to the myths and study them in an attempt to throw light on the religious and political institutions of Ancient Greece, its civilization, and to gain understanding of the nature of myth-making itself.

Greek religion encompasses the collection of beliefs and rituals practiced in ancient Greece in the form of both popular public religion and cult practices. These different groups varied enough for it to be possible to speak of Greek religions or "cults" in the plural, though most of them shared similarities. Also, the Greek religion extended out of Greece and out to other islands.

Many Greek people recognized the major gods and goddesses: Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, Ares, Dionysus, Hephaestus, Athena, Hermes, Demeter, Hestia and Hera though philosophies such as Stoicism and some forms of Platonism used language that seems to posit a transcendent single deity. Different cities often worshipped the same deities, sometimes with epithets that distinguished them and specified their local nature.

Ancient Greek philosophy[link]

Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BCE and continued through the Hellenistic period, at which point Ancient Greece was incorporated in the Roman Empire. It dealt with a wide variety of subjects, including political philosophy, ethics, metaphysics, ontology, logic, biology, rhetoric, and aesthetics.

Many philosophers today concede that Greek philosophy has shaped the entire Western thought since its inception. Clear, unbroken lines of influence lead from ancient Greek and Hellenistic philosophers, to medieval Islamic philosophers, to the European Renaissance and Enlightenment.

Technology of ancient Greece[link]

Ancient Greek technology developed at an unprecedented speed during the 5th century BC, continuing up to and including the Roman period, and beyond. Inventions that are credited to the ancient Greeks such as the gear, screw, rotary mills, screw press, bronze casting techniques, water clock, water organ, torsion catapult and the use of steam to operate some experimental machines and toys and a chart to find prime numbers. Many of these inventions occurred late in the Greek period, often inspired by the need to improve weapons and tactics in war. However, peaceful uses are shown by their early development of the watermill, a device which pointed to further exploitation on a large scale under the Romans. They developed surveying and mathematics to an advanced state, and many of their technical advances were published by philosophers such as Archimedes and Hero.

Classical Rome[link]

Famous classicists[link]

Throughout the history of the Western world, many classicists have gone on to gain acknowledgement outside the field.

• John Milton, author of Paradise Lost and English Civil War figure; studied, like many educated people of the time, Latin and Greek texts, which influenced Paradise Lost
• George Berkeley, philosopher, read Classics at Trinity College, Dublin, where he was also Junior Lecturer in Greek
• Edward Gibbon, English historian and Member of Parliament who wrote The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
• William Ewart Gladstone, 19th century British Prime Minister, studied classics at Oxford University
• Theodor Mommsen, author of History of Rome and works on Roman law; German politician, delegate in the Reichstag during the German Empire period
• Karl Marx, philosopher and political thinker, studied Latin and Greek and received a Ph.D. for a dissertation on ancient Greek philosophy, entitled "The Difference between the Democritean and Epicurean Philosophy of Nature." His classical background is reflected in his philosophies—indeed the term "proletariat" which he coined came from that Latin word referring to the lowest class of citizen.
• Søren Kierkegaard, philosopher, theologian, and social critic, studied classical philosophy and received a Master of Arts for a dissertation on Socratic thought, entitled On the Concept of Irony with Continual Reference to Socrates. Kierkegaard spent much of his philosophical career studying and refining his views of Socrates.
• Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher; became Professor of Classical Philology at the University of Basel in Switzerland at the age of 24. His most famous books on the subject are The Birth of Tragedy and Philosophy in the Tragic Age of the Greeks.
• Sir James George Frazer, poet and anthropologist
• Oscar Wilde, nineteenth-century playwright and poet; studied classics at Trinity College, Dublin and Magdalen College, Oxford
• T.E. Lawrence, known as Lawrence of Arabia; British military officer and a key figure in the Arab Revolt 1916-18 read Classics at Jesus College, Oxford. He translated the Odyssey.^[7]
• A.E. Housman, best known to the public as a poet and the author of A Shropshire Lad, was the most accomplished (and feared) textual critic of his generation and held the Kennedy Professorship of Latin at Trinity College, Cambridge from 1911 until his death in 1936.
• John Buchan, writer and politician, who served as Governor General of Canada.
• P.G. Wodehouse, writer, playwright, lyricist and creator of Jeeves; studied classics at Dulwich College
• Enoch Powell, British Conservative and later Ulster Unionist politician; wrote and edited texts on Herodotus
• Boris Johnson, British Conservative politician and current Mayor of London; studied classics at Balliol College, Oxford.
• Steven Fry, British, famous comedian and television presenter
• Mary Beard (classicist), Classics lecturer at Cambridge, has presented Classical educational programmes

Most other pre-twentieth century Oxbridge playwrights, poets and English scholars studied classics before English studies became a course in its own right. Also many civil servants, politicians, etc. studied classics at Oxford University, by taking a course in Greats, up till the 1920s, when Modern Greats started to become more influential.

Modern quotations about[link]

• "Nor can I do better, in conclusion, than impress upon you the study of Greek literature, which not only elevates above the vulgar herd but leads not infrequently to positions of considerable emolument."
  —Thomas Gaisford, Christmas sermon, Christ Church, Oxford.
• "I would make them all learn English: and then I would let the clever ones learn Latin as an honour, and Greek as a treat."
  —Sir Winston Churchill, Roving Commission: My Early Life
• "He studied Latin like the violin, because he liked it."
  —Robert Frost, The Death of the Hired Man
• "I enquire now as to the genesis of a philologist and assert the following: 1. A young man cannot possibly know what the Greeks and Romans are. 2. He does not know whether he is suited for finding out about them."
  —Friedrich Nietzsche, Unzeitgemässe Betrachtungen
• "I doubt whether classical education ever has been or can be successfully carried out without corporal punishment."
  —George Orwell

See also[link]

Classics portal

• Classical tradition
• Outline of classical studies
  • Outline of ancient Greece
    • Greek Language
  • Outline of ancient Rome
    • Latin Language
  • Christian views on the classics
• Outline of ancient Egypt
• Digital Classicist
• Humanism
• Literae Humaniores
• Loeb Classical Library
• Philology
• Western culture
• Western World

Notes[link]

References[link]

Dictionaries[link]

• Biographical Dictionary of North American Classicists by Ward W. Briggs, Jr. (editor). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1994 (hardcover, ISBN 0-313-24560-6).
• Classical Scholarship: A Biographical Encyclopedia (Garland Reference Library of the Humanities) by Ward W. Briggs and William M. Calder III (editors). New York: Taylor & Francis, 1990 (hardcover, ISBN 0-8240-8448-9).
• Dictionary of British Classicists, 1500–1960. Bristol: Thoemmes Continuum, 2004 (ISBN 1-85506-997-0).
• An Encyclopedia of the History of Classical Archaeology, edited by Nancy Thomson de Grummond. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1996 (hardcover, ISBN 0-313-22066-2; ISBN 0-313-30204-9 (A–K); ISBN 0-313-30205-7 (L–Z)).
• Harper's Dictionary of Classical Literature and Antiquities, ed. by Harry Thurston Peck. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1896; 2nd ed., 1897; New York: Cooper Square Publishers, 1965.
• Medwid, Linda M. The Makers of Classical Archaeology: A Reference Work. New York: Humanity Books, 2000 (hardcover, ISBN 1-57392-826-7).
• The New Century Classical Handbook, ed. by Catherine B. Avery. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1962.
• The Oxford Classical Dictionary, ed. by Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth, revised 3rd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2003 (ISBN 0-19-860641-9).
• The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature, ed. by M.C. Howatson. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.

Miscellanea[link]

• Beard, Mary; Henderson, John. Classics: A very short introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995 (paperback, ISBN 0-19-285313-9); 2000 (new edition, paperback, ISBN 0-19-285385-6).
• Briggs, Ward W.; Calder, III, William M. Classical scholarship: A biographical encyclopedia (Garland reference library of the humanities). London: Taylor & Francis, 1990 (ISBN 0-8240-8448-9).
• Forum: Class and Classics:
  • Krevans, Nita. "Class and Classics: A Historical Perspective," The Classical Journal, Vol. 96, No. 3. (2001), p. 293.
  • Moroney, Siobhan. "Latin, Greek and the American Schoolboy: Ancient Languages and Class Determinism in the Early Republic", The Classical Journal, Vol. 96, No. 3. (2001), pp. 295–307.
  • Harrington Becker, Trudy. "Broadening Access to a Classical Education: State Universities in Virginia in the Nineteenth Century", The Classical Journal, Vol. 96, No. 3. (2001), pp. 309–322.
  • Bryce, Jackson. "Teaching the Classics", The Classical Journal, Vol. 96, No. 3. (2001), pp. 323–334.
• Knox, Bernard. The Oldest Dead White European Males, And Other Reflections on the Classics. New York; London: W.W. Norton & Co., 1993.
• Macrone, Michael. Brush Up Your Classics. New York: Gramercy Books, 1991. (Guide to famous words, phrases and stories of Greek classics.)
• Nagy, Péter Tibor. "The meanings and functions of classical studies in Hungary in the 18th–20th century", in The social and political history of Hungarian education (ISBN 963-200-511-2).
• Pearcy, Lee T. The Grammar of Our Civility: Classical Education in America (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2005).
• Wellek, René. "Classicism in Literature", in Dictionary of the History of Ideas, Studies of Selected Pivotal Ideas, ed. by Philip P. Wiener. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1968.
• Winterer, Caroline. The Mirror of Antiquity: American Women and the Classical Tradition, 1750–1900. Ithaca, NY; London: Cornell University Press, 2007 (hardcover, ISBN 978-0-8014-4163-9).

Further reading[link]

• Victor Davis Hanson, John Heath, Who Killed Homer: The Demise of Classical Education and the Recovery of Greek Wisdom, Encounter Books, 2001

External links[link]

Wikiversity has learning materials about classics at The School of Classics

Find more about Classics on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Definitions and translations from Wiktionary
	Images and media from Commons
	Learning resources from Wikiversity
	News stories from Wikinews
	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Source texts from Wikisource
	Textbooks from Wikibooks

• The Classical Association, the largest classical organization in the UK.
• Institute of Classical Studies, the UK's national centre for the study of the ancient world, based at the University of London
• Institute of Classical Studies Postgraduate Work-in-Progress Seminar official website, the UK's national forum for postgraduate students in classics
• Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies
• Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies
• The American Classical League, the largest classics organization in the US, mainly a Latin, Greek, and Humanities teacher resource center
• The National Junior Classical League, the largest youth-oriented Classics organization in the world, with US and international chapters, and membership for all middle- and high-school students of the Classics
• Classical Resources on Internet at the Department of Classical Philology, University of Tartu.
• De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors
• Electronic Resources for Classicists by the University of California, Irvine.
• Illustrated History of the Roman Empire
• The Online Medieval and Classical Library
• NOSTOI Journal of Classical Humanism. An aggregation of classical topics, articles and news.
• The Perseus Digital Library
• The Centre for the Promotion of Classics in Schools, Eye, Suffolk

Madhuri Dixit
Madhuri Dixit in 2011
Born	(1967-05-15) 15 May 1967 (age 45) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1984–2002 2007–present
Spouse	Dr Shriram Madhav Nene (1999–present)
Website
www.madhuridixit-nene.com

Madhuri Dixit (born on 15 May 1967)^[1] is an Indian film actress who has appeared in Hindi films. Often cited by the media as one of the best actresses in Bollywood,^[2][3] Dixit made her film debut in Abodh (1984) and received wider public recognition with Tezaab (1988). She went on to establish herself as one of Hindi cinema's leading actresses, acknowledged for several of her performances, her beauty, and her accomplished dancing.^[4]

Some of her proceeding films include such box-office hits as Dil (1990), Saajan (1991), Beta (1992), Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994) and Raja (1995). After a relatively low phase, she reinvented herself with the romance Dil To Pagal Hai (1997) and subsequently received critical acclaim for her work in films like Mrityudand (1997), Pukar (2000), Lajja (2001) and Devdas (2002). In 2002, she retired from films in order to raise her children and made a comeback with the musical Aaja Nachle in 2007.

Dixit has won five Filmfare Awards, four for Best Actress and one for Best Supporting Actress. She holds the record for the highest number of Best Actress nominations (13) at Filmfare. In 2008, she was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian award by the Government of India.^[5]

She is married to Dr Shriram Madhav Nene, with whom she has two children. The couple resided in the United States before moving to India in 2011.

Early life[link]

Madhuri Dixit is a native of Mumbai, India. She was born Madhuri Shankar Dixit to Shankar and Snehlata Dixit, of a Marathi Brahmin family. Dixit attended Divine Child High School and Mumbai University and studied to be a microbiologist.^[6] She is a trained Kathak dancer^[7] and a great admirer of it.^[8]

Film career[link]

1980s[link]

Madhuri Dixit made her acting debut in Rajshri Productions' movie Abodh in 1984. The film failed but minor and supporting roles continued to follow.

In 1988, Dixit attained stardom after she landed the lead female role of Mohini in N. Chandra's blockbuster Tezaab opposite Anil Kapoor. The film went on to become that year's highest grossing movie.^[9] Dixit received her first nomination for the Filmfare Best Actress Award.

In 1989, Dixit continued her success by starring in a number of successful hit movies. Her first release was Subhash Ghai's movie Ram Lakhan, in which she was paired once again with Anil Kapoor. The film became a super-hit movie and went on to become the second highest grossing film of the year.^[10] Dixit's next release Prem Pratigyaa, in which she starred opposite Mithun Chakraborty, earned her second nomination for the Filmfare Best Actress Award. Dixit's next big performance came in the multi-starrer Tridev, in which she was paired with Sunny Deol. The movie became the year's third highest grossing film. Dixit continued her success with her third pairing with Anil Kapoor in Parinda.

1990s[link]

In 1990, Dixit starred in Indra Kumar's romantic-drama Dil opposite Aamir Khan. She played the role of a rich and arrogant girl who falls in love with a poorer boy and later leaves her house to marry him. The film became the biggest box-office hit of the year in India^[11] and Dixit's performance earned her the first Filmfare Best Actress Award of her career.

After the success of Dil, Dixit became one of the top actresses of Bollywood. In 1991, she starred in Lawrence D'Souza's super-hit movie Saajan opposite Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt. The movie became the year's highest-grossing movie. Dixit's performance earned her the fourth nomination for the Filmfare Best Actress Award.^[12]

In 1992, Dixit featured in Indra Kumar's blockbuster Beta opposite Anil Kapoor.^[13] Dixit's performance of Saraswati, a woman married to an illiterate, well-meaning man who exposes her scheming mother-in-law, won her a second Filmfare Best Actress Award. Following the film's success, Dixit became famously known as the "Dhak Dhak Girl" for her performance in the famous song "Dhak Dhak Karne Laga".

In 1993, Dixit starred in Subhash Ghai's super-hit Khalnayak opposite Sanjay Dutt and Jackie Shroff. Her portrayal of the police officer Ganga earned her a sixth nomination for the Filmfare Best Actress Award. Khalnayak became the year's second highest grossing film.^[14]

In 1994, Dixit starred in Rahul Rawail's Anjaam, being paired with Shahrukh Khan for the first time. Dixit's performance of a revenge-seeking wife and mother earned her a seventh nomination for the Filmfare Best Actress Award. Dixit was praised for her performance, though the film was a below average performer at the box office. Her next starring role was in Sooraj R. Barjatya's Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! opposite Salman Khan.The film became one of the biggest hits in the history of Hindi cinema. The film was a commercial success and made 135 crore in worldwide breaking the record of Sholay. It became the highest grossing Bollywood film in Hindi cinema history after its theatrical run and held the record for 7 years till the release of Gadar: Ek Prem Katha. Dixit's role of a modern yet family-oriented young girl fetched her the third Filmfare Best Actress Award of her career. In the Millenium Edition of the "Guinness Book of World Records" Hum Aapke Hain Kaun became the Bollywood's highest grossing film.^[15]

In 1995, Dixit starred in Indra Kumar's Raja opposite Sanjay Kapoor. The film became the fourth highest grosser of the year and she earned her ninth nomination for the Filmfare Best Actress Award.^[16] Her next release David Dhawan's Yaraana opposite Rishi Kapoor, in which she plays a dancer on the run from her abusive lover, earned her tenth nomination for the Filmfare Best Actress Award.

After Raja, Dixit's career went into a slump during 1996 and much of 1997. However, she bounced back commercially with Yash Chopra's musical-romance Dil To Pagal Hai in 1997 alongside Shahrukh Khan and Karisma Kapoor. Her portrayal of a young woman faced with a moral dilemma fetched her a fourth Filmfare Best Actress Award.^[17] The movie became the second highest grosser of the year.^[18] In that same year, Dixit starred in Prakash Jha's critically acclaimed Mrityudand.

2000s[link]

In 2002, she starred in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's melodrama Devdas. The film, which co-starred Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai saw Dixit portray the role of Chandramukhi, a prostitute in love with Khan. The film was a box-office success and her performance earned her a Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award. The film was featured at the Cannes Film Festival. The following year a film named after her, Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon, was released^[19] in which a woman (played by Antara Mali) aspires to become the new Madhuri Dixit by trying her luck in Bollywood.^[20][21]

On 7 December 2006, Dixit returned to Mumbai with her husband and sons to start filming for Aaja Nachle (2007).^[22] The film released in November 2007 and, despite the critics panning it, Dixit's performance was highly appreciated,^[23][24][25] with the New York Times commenting about her that "she's still got it".^[26][27]

On Women's International Day in 2007, Dixit topped Rediff's list of the Best Bollywood Actresses Ever.^[2] In May 2008, she was given a tribute by Indian Film Festival at Los Angeles.^[28] In March 2010, The Economic Times named Madhuri Dixit in the list of the "33 women who made India proud".^[3] She also received a Filmfare Special Award in honor of her 25 years in the Bollywood industry. In 2011, Rediff.com listed her in top 10 "Readers Choice: The Greatest Actresses of all time".^[29]

Dance[link]

Madhuri Dixit dancing on stage for the Unforgettable Tour in 2008

Dixit is not only known for her acting skills,^{[2][20][21][30][30][31]} but for her dancing skills as well.^[32] Often referred to as the "Dhak Dhak Girl", she is famous for her dance in the song "Dhak Dhak Karne Laga" from the film Beta. She is also known for her dance sequences accompanying Bollywood songs such as "Ek Do Teen" (from Tezaab), "Humko Aaj Kal Hai" (from Sailaab), "Bada Dukh Deenha" (from Ram Lakhan), "Chane Ke Khet Mein" (from Anjaam), "Didi Tera Devar Deewana" (from Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!), "Choli Ke Peechhe" (from Khalnayak), "Akhiyan Milaun" (from Raja), "Mera Piya Ghar Aaya" (from Yaraana), "Kay Sera Sera" (from Pukar), and "Maar Daala" (from Devdas).

Pandit Birju Maharaj, a Kathak dancer, who choreographed Dixit in the film Devdas calls her as "the best Bollywood dancer due to her versatility." ^[33]

Television appearances[link]

Dixit on the sets of Nach Baliye

In 2001 on the popular game show Kaun Banega Crorepati's first season, hosted by Amitabh Bachchan, she won 50,00,000 that she donated for people affected in natural calamities. She also made an appearance in Season 4's Grand Finale that aired in 2010.

In 2002, Madhuri Dixit hosted a TV show Kahina Kahi Koi Hai which was a match-making show that aired on Sony Entertainment.^[34] She also made appearances on Koffee with Karan in Season 2 & Season 3 that aired in 2007 & 2011. Her Season 2 appearance was a solo appearance and in Season 3 she shared the chat show with Sonakshi Sinha.

Dixit has been guest on Nach Baliye Season 1 and 3, a celebrity-couple dancing competition in 2005 (aired on Star One) & 2007 (aired on Star Plus).

In 2011, she appeared as a judge on the dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 4 along with other co-judges Remo D'souza and Malaika Arora Khan.^[35]

Social work[link]

In 2009 Madhuri Dixit performed for NDTV Toyota Greenathon — India's first-ever nationwide campaign for save the environment and creating awareness about environmental issues. NDTV organised India's first 24-hour live telethon — a fund-raising event that brings in people to donate money to support TERI's initiative — Lighting a Billion Lives which aims at providing solar power to villages without electricity. Dixit became a part of this great social cause, and she performed her hit numbers on the live show.^[36][37]

On 3 February 2011 Dixit spent an evening with 75 orphanage kids of farmers at an ashram in Trimbakeshwar and participated in the birthday of two children: Hrishikesh and Rani. "We artists are ready to help such children. People from the higher society should come forward and stand firmly behind them," she said on the occasion.^[38]

Madhuri Dixit is a brand ambassador and a patron for Emeralds for Elephants — a charity project for the conservation of Asian Elephants and other endangered species. This project has been designed to create awareness and raise vital funds for the protection of the critically endangered Asian Elephant. A collaborative project between the World Land Trust (a UK based nonprofit environmental organisation) and the Wildlife Trust of India that is creating protected wildlife corridors connecting National Parks and protected areas to others. Speaking about the issue she said: "Elephants are one of my favourite animals and I love them. So what we need to do today is to see how we can preserve our animals. I feel very strongly about this."^[39]

Personal life[link]

Madhuri Dixit with Shriram Madhav Nene at the Filmfare 2011 Nominations Bash

On 17 October 1999, Madhuri Dixit married Shriram Madhav Nene, a UCLA-trained cardiovascular surgeon who practiced in Denver.^[40][41][42] Nene is also from a Marathi Brahmin family.^[43] They have two sons, Arin (born in March 2003) and Raayan (born in March 2005). After marriage, Dixit had relocated to Denver, US for almost a decade. In October 2011, Dixit again shifted her base back to Mumbai, India, along with her family.^[44]

Madhuri Dixit has been the muse for the famous Indian painter M.F. Husain. He was so fascinated by Madhuri Dixit in Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! that he watched the film 67 times, and in 2007 he booked an entire theatre to see her comeback movie Aaja Nachle.^[45] He made a series of paintings of her, and in 2000 made a film named Gaja Gamini starring her, which was intended as a tribute to Dixit herself.^[46]

Awards and nominations[link]

Filmography[link]