Actress Madhuri Dixit, who will be seen in two upcoming Hindi films, is happy to work with a new crop of talented actors and says she has been working in Bollywood as per her own plan. Madhuri is set to stage a comeback in Bollywood after a gap of six years with two projects: Vishal Bharadwaj’s home production Dedh Ishqiya and the Anubhav Sinha-produced Gulab Gang. She has also done an item song in Karan Johar’s home production Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, which released Friday. The item song, Ghagra, features her and new age actor Ranbir Kapoor. “I don’t know why people call it a comeback...It is a mystery to me. Everyone works according to their plan. The vibe from the industry people is positive,” Madhuri said.

After her marriage in 1999 to a US-based surgeon, she did Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas in 2002. She then took a break and staged a comeback with Aditya Chopra’s home production Aaja Nachle in 2007. Despite not being very visible on the silver screen, the 46-year- old filmstar was very much present on the small screen. She appeared as one of the judges in the TV dance reality show Jhalak Dikhla Jaa in seasons four and five. She will be judging the show’s sixth edition as well. Madhuri relocated to the US for almost a decade after her marriage. In 2011, she shifted her base back to Mumbai along with her family. Gulab Gang, directed by newcomer Soumik Sen, also stars Juhi Chawla, Mahie Gill, Shilpa Shukla and others. “I have done everything in this film—fight, dance and sing. We are saying quite a few things through this film, but in an entertaining way. It is not a heavy film which delivers sermons.”

“It was good working with a new crop of actors. They are full of energy, have ideas and are confident. It was wonderful working with talented actors,” she added. In the late 1980s and early 90s, Madhuri and Juhi Chawla were considered on-screen competitors. But now, they’re working together on Gulab Gang, based on a group of women fighting social injustice. “This is the first time I’ve worked with Juhi and she is a wonderful co-star. We have some interesting scenes together,” Madhuri said. For Gulab Gang, Madhuri sang a few lines with her mother Snehlata. “They wanted a voice for a particular sequence, not a proper song. With a couple of instruments playing in the background, they wanted the actress to break into song. They wanted to make it realistic, so when the director asked me, I thought about it and agreed.” Madhuri said she inherited her artistic talents from her mother, who has an interest in music.

“My mother couldn’t learn dance but made sure her daughters were trained. We got those things from her. I took her aside and asked her to sing one line for me (for the Gulab Gang song). She sang and I was like, ‘mum you have made your debut at 80’,” she said. Her other project is Dedh Ishqiya, directed by Abhishek Chaubey. The first part (Ishqiya, 2010) got rave reviews and healthy box office collections. For the sequel, the makers have retained lead actors Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi. Madhuri is expecting a positive response to the sequel as well.