Proud mom Madhuri Dixit reveals her elder son works at Apple

Madhuri Dixit has spent decades being one of Indian cinema’s most recognisable faces. Still, away from the arc lights and adulation, her life took a distinctly quieter turn when she moved to the United States in 1999 after marrying Dr Sriram Nene. For over a decade, the actor lived a largely low-key life in the West, raising her two sons far removed from the limelight of Bollywood.

Madhuri on being an empty nester 

In a recent conversation on mid-day’s Sit With Hitlist, Madhuri reflected on how her children, Arin and Ryan, grew up with surprisingly little awareness of her cinematic legacy. “We lived there for a little over ten years,” she shared, adding that her sons’ exposure to her film career was minimal while growing up in the US. “They’ve actually seen more of my films after going to college than they ever did before.”

Now aged 22 and 20, Arin and Ryan are firmly charting their own paths. Madhuri beams with pride as she talks about them. “The younger one is in college at USC, and the older one just graduated this year in May and is working at Apple,” she said. 

No Bollywood circus for Madhuri’s kids

Despite being the children of one of Bollywood’s biggest stars, neither Arin nor Ryan has expressed an interest in entering the film industry. “They’ve never really been into the industry,” she said.

 “My kids are different. The younger one, especially, is not interested in this whole circus. He’s like, ‘Bye, mom.’ Neither of them has ever really been drawn to the industry,” she added. 

Arin, however, has found his creative calling in music. “Music is his passion,” Madhuri explained. “He produces his own music. Even in school, he did music as a minor and computer science engineering as his major.” That unique blend of creativity and technical expertise has served him well, she added, noting that at Apple, he is involved in projects related to noise cancellation. “He’s really enjoying himself, but music is something he truly loves.”

Ryan, on the other hand, is firmly rooted in the world of science and technology. “He’s a STEM guy—into technology, engineering, and math,” Madhuri said. “He’s just amazing.”

Interestingly, it was only after heading to college and meeting Indian friends that her sons began discovering her films. Classics like Devdas and Dil To Pagal Hai entered their lives much later than one might expect.