Meenakshi Seshadri looks back on a life that moved from stardom at its peak to 30 quiet years away from the screen — and now, a return shaped by clarity… In this conversation, she reflects on discipline, detachment, family, and the values that continue to guide her through every phase of her journey.

By Andrea CostaBir

You rose to prominence in the 1980s — how did you navigate your journey to becoming one of the top actresses of Hindi cinema?

First thing, and this is not because of humility or something, but I don’t know if I was one of the leading actresses. I was okay, I did pretty good. I just feel I had very good people around me who made me look good. People like Sridevi, Madhuri [Dixit], Juhi [Chawla], my peers, and my colleagues were so exemplary themselves. That’s why, whatever work I did, even if it was just average, came out as something really fantastic and meaningful.

Of course, now in my second innings (I’ve come back after 30 years), when people talk to me now about their perception of how they saw me as an actress back then, now I’m more willing to accept the bouquets. They have great memories, and they remember me not just for my performances or my dancing or the movies I did. They remember me for my professionalism, my simplicity, and my very down-to-earth attitude in life. So I’m really glad that they saw the full picture.

When producers signed me for a movie, it would be stress-free, tension-free from beginning to end. I was not eccentric or indisciplined. If a set was standing and they had to finish work in one night and I had to work around the clock, I would do it. No questions asked.

This training comes from years of learning classical dance, plus having my own mother as my teacher. When your mother is your teacher, the discipline you learn is even more intense and special.

I don’t know how I navigated my journey. I just let it flow. Coming into movies itself was not a conscious decision. I had just finished 12th grade, won Miss India 1981, got modelling and movie offers right off that. Within two months of having finished my board exams, I had signed my first movie.

My dad would always say, what is success? Success is A, B, C. A stands for your Ability, your innate talent. B stands for the Breaks you get, the right door opening at the right time. And C is for Courage, courage of your convictions. I think I kind of unconsciously had all those happening simultaneously for me.

I was committed, I was competitive. I wanted to do well, look my best, feel my best. But I was always very detached. It comes from my upbringing and the classical music and dance training. There’s a lot of spirituality interwoven. So it was like I was there in the Mahabharata, in the Gita — Arjuna is on the battlefield, but he is told to be detached and still do his duty. That kind of filtered into my subconscious.

How did your family support you and cope with this change?

There were two sides to the coin. One side was that my family was very artistic. So music, dance, drama, performance, entertainment – we grew up in that atmosphere, even though it was more classical dance and music. But there was popular drama, and Hindi film music in our family too.

The other side of the coin was when I got a movie offer on its own accord. They supported me by saying, you’re just 17, try and see that you don’t give up your education. Continue, sign up for a correspondence Bachelor’s degree, study and do this one film, see how this one film is. You want to know what filmmaking is about? Fine. But we don’t want you to live alone; we don’t want you to go anywhere alone. Family members will be with you because you are too simple, naive and innocent. And they allowed me to sign that movie.

By the way, ‘Hero’ was the second movie I signed while the first movie ‘Painter Babu’ was still being shot.

What do you remember about your breakthrough role in ‘Hero’, and how did it shape your career going forward?

Subhash Ghai told Manoj Kumar (who had signed me for ‘Painter Babu’) that he wanted to see some of the rushes of my movie; I had shot 2-3 songs. He saw a song in which I was dancing in the snow, wearing hot pants and a knotted top. Looking very glamorous and very chalu! And he said, oh no, my heroine in ‘Hero’ has to be very sanskari, very traditional, innocent, simple, Indian-like. This girl will not work.

But he decided to meet me anyway, face-to-face. But when he met me and saw the way I actually am, he was like, this is the girl who is the best choice for ‘Hero’. What she did in ‘Painter Babu’ was just a role, but in reality, she is like my Radha.

Subhash Ghai is an amazing filmmaker. His success rate is just awesome. And I was so excited to work with somebody who had made films like ‘Karz’ and ‘Kalicharan’ and ‘Vidhata’. And who knew so much about how to present the heroine. Both Jackie and I were absolutely raw. He was able to mould us as per the requirements of the role. I’ll give 120% credit to him, our director. Both of us shone in the film the way we did because of him.

When ‘Hero’ released, it did not take off immediately. It was slow in the beginning. But somewhere around the third week, something magical happened. People went crazy over the film. It became one of the hugest films.

I was still doing my BA at that time. I used to travel to college by train, and one day people started recognising me! After that, my family said, ‘That’s it’, and we got a car and driver.

That phase, those first few years, was very interesting. Overnight, hordes and hordes of films were being offered. At that time, we were shooting two to three shifts a day and doing 15–20 films a year.

I made a few choices. I decided I did not like too much glamour. I did not like becoming a sex object. I did not like clothing or dance movements that were unnecessarily revealing or vulgar. That did affect the kind of work I got. The good side was that I got to do heroine-oriented roles very early. That foundation later led me to films like ‘Damini’.

Looking back at films like ‘Damini’, ‘Ghayal’, and ‘Shahenshah’, which performances feel most defining to you today?

When we are born, we have no conditioning. In the same way, when I was selecting films, I didn’t know what it would lead to. It just felt natural and spontaneous.

Today, I would say I am ready for more variation and challenges. I am open to playing even a negative character or a very complex role. I have seen much more of life now. So rather than looking back, I am more interested in what I can do now. But those films definitely created a good platform for me.

You worked with leading stars such as Sunny Deol, Anil Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Khanna, Rishi Kapoor, Jackie Shroff — what did those collaborations teach you about your craft?

All these actors were very talented and ambitious, and we all wanted to do well. That synergy was there.

The one person who really made me work harder was Amitabh Bachchan. His work ethic was to rehearse and over-rehearse and get better with every take. And he would create such good vibes on set. I learned a lot from him.

My best co-star? Chichi (Govinda), who I felt was very versatile and highly talented. And one of the best comic actors I have ever seen. The second was Chintu (Rishi Kapoor). And finally, Chiranjeevi, with whom I did two movies in the ‘90s. Both of them were super films; one of them was in Telugu and it got me the State award.

My favourite female co-star and actress? I would say Madhuri [Dixit]. In the sense that the amount of substance and talent that she brought to her career was just amazing. I personally got along quite well with Juhi [Chawla]. Juhi has this very lovable, childlike way of approaching life. I kind of like that.I also made a good friend in Sangeeta Bijlani.

At the peak of your career, how did you experience stardom personally and professionally?

My daily routine was very disciplined. I would wake up, go for a power walk, do yoga or aerobics, then dance practice for at least an hour. I would shoot the whole day, study on set because I was doing my Bachelor’s, go to parties – but be the first to arrive and the first to leave. For me, life as a star was just about having fun as an artiste. I never thought, oh my God, I am a star. It stayed very professional. It never made me feel superior.

You stepped away from films after marrying Harish and moved to the United States — what prompted that decision, and how did that transition reshape your priorities?

I was kind of secretive about it. I was very protective about our relationship. Through my movie career, there had been two-three times when I had been linked with people when it was not true at all. And it had left a bad taste in my mouth. So, I said this time around, I don’t want my marriage to be sullied by all kinds of news reports. We had a very quiet, registered marriage in New York. We never had a big wedding or party. 

I tried to convince Harish to come to India so I could continue acting and dancing. He did come for a year, but we both wanted to plan a family in the more private space of USA, so I decided it was time for me to leave. At that time, I was very sure that my personal life took preference over anything professional. I was 100% sure it was the right decision and I stand by that.

We have two kids. My daughter is 28. My son is 23. They’re both independent and doing very well; they are also very loving and very smart. They have inherited qualities of intellect from Harish and creativity from me. My daughter graduated from Stanford and works in a fintech company. My son is graduating from Harvard. He also dabbles in acting and singing while doing brilliantly in his academics, though we’re encouraged him to focus on his regular studies first and see where things go from there. 

How would you describe your years in the United States, and their impact on you as a person?

For me, the US was a blessing. It forced me to become self-sufficient. I learnt cooking, driving, managing my finances and taxes. Honestly, my memory of the US is just driving all the time – driving to get groceries, drop the kids, picking them up, getting things done. The best thing I did was start my dance school. I taught Bharatanatyam, Odissi and Kathak. I only took students by audition, those who had natural aptitude and passion.

Could you share some insights about your family and children, and the values that have been most important to you as a mother?

I just tried to model it with my behaviour – discipline, empathy,self-motivation, pursuit of joy. Though born and brought up in the US, our children have a hybrid and global perspective.

Neither Harish nor I wanted them to grow up as if we had to bind them in our value system completely. Kids should know whether they truly believe in something or not. Today, they are open to other cultures and proud to be Indian.

What made you take this call to come back to India 30 years later? 

I’m a different person today and I’m passionate about dancing and acting. It’s what I do. It’s a defining thing for me. I can’t get those opportunities in the US. Hats off to Priyanka Chopra. Not all of us can be like her. She gets to travel to continents and get quality work, attention, appreciation. I’m not that young either. So to give myself enough opportunities – practically the work is here, in India, especially in Mumbai – I decided to come back. I tried for some time to see if I could get work while I was in the US; work with some agency. It was very hard because everybody was nervous about whether I would show up or not, how they would communicate, how travel would be managed, would I be available when they needed me? All these practical logistics are there… it’s a business, you have to be around.

Now that you’ve returned to India, has the transition back into the public and professional space been good?

With my family’s support and blessings, I’m back in India to restart my career in the entertainment industry. It has been a slow process. There was an uphill struggle to reconnect as I did not stay in touch with anybody in India or the movie business. 30 years I was out of the country and I completely lost touch, no networking, no coming back and trying to meet people and all that. The first thing I was told by casting agents and production houses is that you have to have a social media presence, and I had nothing. To build that up, I began to do events. Events and appearances seem to be a favourite with everybody. So, many of my appearances are actually classical dance performances. I have also developed my persona as a singer and a motivational speaker. The entertainment industry has opened up in so many ways now… 

What kind of roles or projects are you most interested in now?

If it’s a good project and I have something significant to do, it doesn’t matter whether it’s OTT or the big screen. 

Do you follow a particular wellness or lifestyle routine?

Some dance practice, some singing practice, gym, yoga, meditation. I try to meditate twice a day. I am also quite particular about my food. High protein, lots of vegetables, fruits, yoghurt. My diet is pretty simple.

At this stage in life, where do you see yourself personally — what gives you a sense of balance and fulfillment today?

I’m a lot into traditional Indian scriptures. But I believe we are all united as humanity. So that self-realisation gives me inner strength. It gives me a lot of love and appreciation for everybody around. I want to go through life as a joyous person, having fun, doing what I love, having my family and friends by me. Simple living, high thinking.

As you look ahead, what are your goals and what continues to drive your sense of purpose?

I just want to be remembered, if at all I am remembered, as a good human being. Now what does that mean? Does that mean I will do things to help people? Charity? Raise awareness? Does it mean that I will try to better myself? I’m not completely sure. I think if I just keep doing what I’m doing right now, I’ll get there. 

Rapid Fire

Words your children would use to describe you?
Spiritual and creative.

One thing your husband Harish does that always makes you smile?
Being himself.

One family ritual you cherish the most?
Our WhatsApp group chat.

One thing motherhood taught you that films never could?
How to say no successfully!

One way to unwind after a long day?
Hot bath.

One beauty routine?
Using my natural herbal face packs.

One thing you’ve rediscovered about yourself recently?
I like myself.