‘The Fame Game’ Gives Us Madhuri Dixit in All Her Glory

Anamika Anand (Madhuri Dixit), dressed in a lovely red two-piece crop top and pantsuit outfit with an embroidered cape and a ruby and diamond necklace, steps out onto the red carpet as cameras flash to capture her dazzling smile. She is the longest-running star in the Hindi film industry, with a career spanning over 30 years.

But her life is far from perfect. At home, she deals with an abusive husband (Sanjay Kapoor), a son who refuses to confide in her after his attempted suicide, a daughter who feels invisible next to her superstar mother, and her overbearing mother who constantly criticizes her grandchildren.

Anamika Anand, for all her star power, has barely any power off screen, we soon find. When her son asks for something, her husband overrules her. Her daughter gets angry with her. Her mother controls everything from marrying off Anamika to a “middle-class boy from Nagpur” to her finances to her choice of co-star. 

Things quickly turn awry. Anamika goes missing after returning from an event wearing that stunning red outfit. The police are on the case, and have few leads. Everyone in Anamika Anand’s life — from her family to former lover Manish Khanna (Manav Kaul) to her long-time make-up artist — is clearly hiding something. As lines blur between Anand’s reel life and real life, audiences are in for a treat. The Fame Game explores not only the cost of superstardom, but also who exactly limits the success of the likes of the Madhuri Dixits of the world.