Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit’s Beta was a massive success, cementing Indra Kumar’s place as a prominent director in Bollywood. However, Sridevi was initially the first choice for the film. She turned it down, as she preferred not to work with new directors. Madhuri Dixit, who was already collaborating with Indra Kumar on Dil, stepped into the role, but not without resistance from Anil Kapoor. In an interview, actor Adi Irani shared insights into how Dil and Beta came to life.
Indra Kumar had previously produced two films featuring Anil Kapoor—Mohabbat (1985) and Kasam (1988). When he decided to direct Beta, Anil Kapoor was supportive but didn’t have available dates for an entire year. Adi Irani recalled, “Then Anil Kapoor told Indra Kumar, ‘You do one thing. Make a small-budget film in the meantime. You’ll also get an experience being a director too.’ So he started Dil, in which he signed Aamir Khan and Madhuri Dixit. He was thinking, ‘Let me make a small film with these two. Let’s see if it works.’”
At the time, Aamir Khan was struggling to deliver a hit after his debut success. “Six-seven films of his flopped in a row after Aamir Khan’s first film. He was considered a flop hero. The producers used to say, ‘Don’t take him. Don’t know whether his films would work or not.’ That was the case for Madhuri Dixit as well. She had signed a lot of big films, but one-two didn’t work and the others were not getting completed,” Adi Irani explained. Despite the skepticism, Dil became a huge hit.
When it was time for Beta, Indra Kumar approached Sridevi, but she declined the offer. “Sridevi didn’t work with new directors. She was approached for Beta through Anil Kapoor. But she said no to him. Indu ji was already doing Dil with Madhuri, so he signed her for Beta too. So that was another minus point. Why? Because Dil hadn’t released by then. And Madhuri was already signed for Beta. So Anil said, ‘Sridevi said no, so instead of signing a big heroine, you’re signing Madhuri Dixit. Everything is a minus in your film.’ But all the minuses turned out to be pluses for Beta,” Adi Irani shared.
Ultimately, Beta surpassed Dil in success, proving that what seemed like a series of setbacks had, in fact, paved the way for one of Bollywood’s biggest hits.
