Indian actress Madhuri Dixit-Nene & Dr. Shriram Nene stop by Google for a fireside chat with Search SVP Amit Singhal.

For 40 years, I've been trying to learn how to dance.

So I decided to hire the best in the world.

So everyone, with loud thunderous applause, please welcome my new dance teacher, Madhuri Dixit Nene.

Clearly, these 2 need no introduction, but let me just remind you for some of those who are a bit younger than I am.

So Madhuri is clearly 1 of the most popular leading actress in Indian cinema, known for her powerful performances and amazing dance skills that you just saw.

She wowed audience in classic films like, you know, Teja, Ram Lakhan, Sajan, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, Devdas, and many, many more.

6 Filmfare Awards grace her mantelpiece at the house, okay, And that's out of a 16 record nomination that she got in Filmfare Awards.

Let me just read a list of awards she has won.

Pretty much anything that you can win in Indian cinema, Madhuri has won them.

And that's why I need the paper, because I won't be able to remember those, OK?

So Madhuri has won Kala Abhinetri Award, Platinum Diva Award, Screen Award, Vogue Bollywood beauty legend award, right guys?

Zee Sinha award, just to name a few, and to top it all off, she was awarded the Padma Shri, 1 of the highest civilian honors by the government of India in 2008.

She's also a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, and her husband is an accomplished cardiothoracic surgeon, Dr.

Now, Ram is a product of some of the top cardiac schools in the country, Washington University and UCLA, and practiced for over a decade before moving to India with Madhuri and their 2 lovely sons.

Together they started Dance with Madhuri, an initiative to help teach everyone in the world about dance, and want to expand it to include music, acting, and medicine.

And there is 1 thing for which they do not give out an award.

But if they did, Ram and Madhuri will win it hands down every year of their lives.

They both have hearts of gold And they have filled their lives with family, love, selflessness, and yes, humility.

Madhuri and Ram, it's a joy to welcome you to the Google stage.

And Amit and I spent a bit of time together last summer, which he may or may not have told you about.

We did a six-day trek in Ladakh and we started about 9, 000 feet, went all the way to 17, 500 feet, and this was the sort of trek that humbles any 1 of us.

He came in, flew in at the last minute on Dymox, and the rest of us were all having our vasodilation headaches.

And I mean, you can imagine walking between 10 and 15 miles a day at that altitude.

And the bottom line is having friends like him is what matters in anyone's lifetime, and that's what makes it full.

And so it's an absolute pleasure to be here amongst friends and family, And we're really looking forward to this.

Now, you all guys, be nice to me in the future, okay?

So, Madhuri, When you started on the Bollywood scene, you were known for your dance style.

Well, I've been dancing ever since I was 3 years old.

That's a North Indian style of classical dancing.

Because I feel once you learn Kathak, you can do any style in the world, which I have done through my movies.

So even when I did my films, I tried to do some extra, you know, that add a little bit of extra with me and Sarojji.

As Saroj Khan, the choreographer, yes, everybody knows about her.

We formed a lovely team, and we worked so well together because we were both passionate about dancing, and we wanted to take Indian film dancing to a different level, you know, and that's what our goal used to be every time we did a song together.

Was it instant when you were like 3 years old?

You know, it came, I don't know, to me, it came naturally.

Dance to me is everything because it keeps you fit.

And it's just, it's a beautiful way to express.

And there are lots of parents in the audience here who are probably putting their kids in dance school right now.

What advice would both of you have for those parents here?

Well, I would say go to your computers and Google us.

Dance with Madhuri is my website and you can go on that.

There's so many different styles we are teaching on this site.

And I think what is important is to see what your kid takes to.

Like, your child has to take to a certain style of dancing.

And they will just know it within their souls that this is what I want to do, or that is what I want to do.

And let them follow their heart, because if they do something they love, they'll really, really give it their all.

And all the styles are there under 1 roof on Dance with Madhuri.

So I would first like them to try it out and see and select which dance they would like to learn.

They can learn it on the website, or they can go to a school and learn it.

I think to add 1 thing to that, dance to me is about happiness, confidence, and health.

And what it epitomizes is a holistic way to kind of take care of yourself.

It becomes a metaphor for life in some regards.

So when we put this project together, quite an interesting journey in that, as some of you know, I grew up here.

And I had done some software entrepreneur work at the age of 14 and had a company.

And my Indian parents said, you either become a doctor or engineer, or we won't pay for it.

And so, so the thing was, I, being the dutiful son, became a doctor and I became a heart surgeon and I really loved my career.

Very rewarding, took care of some amazing people in very difficult times.

No matter how hard I worked, 3 to 500 patients per year.

And the issue for me was that there's 7 billion people on the planet.

So the journey I made was that if I could take my original skills combined with her media talent and then amalgamate them with brick and mortar, we could change the way people think about medicine.

And we moved to India in 2011, kind of a bold thing.

You've been practicing for 10 years, and you do 300 to 500 cases a year, and you're just abandoning all that to go and start A startup or something like that.

I don't know It's a journey many of you might have made or will make at some point in your life, but daunting nevertheless And so then during the course, I was building out the health care constructs.

And 1 day she said to me that, you know, culture as we know it is changing.

And I learned dance and acting because I loved it.

And what ended up happening was Now in the cinemas and other things, it's a lot of commercialism.

She's like, if I could teach this, I could change the way people think.

And I'm like, well, you're facing the same problems that I am, that we can't scale it.

So what if we put a team on this and scaled it?

And what ended up happening was 3 months of rapid prototyping and engineering, launched in 2013, didn't know if it would work.

And what we ended up finding out is that people could learn remotely and they could extend their level and move forward.

So the idea is to build a global village for culture where everyone is equal.

And, you know, I think the last thought is genius exists in everyone.

And the problem is there's a lot of people on the planet who don't have the opportunities that we do.

And so the idea is if you can take this out to them and find them and nurture that kernel of genius into a full-grown plan, you will change the way people think and how things happen.

So her love of dance kind of spurred this, and it became a platform and it grew.

And I know for a fact that before you met Madhuri, you did not follow Hindi cinema very much, OK?

When someone mentioned Madhuri for the first time, did you run to your computer and Google her?

The thing is, my folks are from Mumbai, and I could only speak Marathi, I didn't speak Hindi.

And so we hadn't grown up watching Hindi cinema.

And the other thing was, I was at UCLA, and so we took care of a lot of the Hollywood industry.

And I'll be very candid with you that the industry there is completely crazy.

I mean, the types of people you meet, I mean, the last thing I want to do is see someone in the industry.

But then I met her brother, and he was phenomenal and very down to earth, very grounded, and kind of fit our sort of overall mindset.

And I think I probably might have Googled her back then, or Yahoo'd her or something.

So Madhuri, how was it leaving Mumbai, Bollywood, and coming here and living in Denver, rather cold compared to Mumbai, for over a decade?

Yeah, you know, in Mumbai it's hot, hotter and hottest.

But for the first time I saw snow and cold and fall and you know all the 4 seasons and it was beautiful.

I mean Denver is a beautiful place to live for anyone.

You walk out and everything that I'd never found in Mumbai I got in Denver because you know just the it was pleasing to the eyes.

The air is so beautiful, and the mountains all around, a very, very beautiful place.

You know, in life, everybody has dreams, right?

You have goals, you have dreams, and having a family, having kids was a big part of my dream, not just my profession and being an actress and or everything else but for me this was a big big deal for me because I grew up in a big family, we have 4 siblings and so for me having kids was you know very very important having a husband, a home and that's that was a big part of my dream.

Of course, I wanted 12 children at 1 point when I was little, But after I had 2, I was like, yeah, this is good enough.

But really, I mean, that's why I enjoyed myself.

I kind of throw myself into everything I do, whether it was looking after my kids or my home or, you know, living that life, going out shopping.

Because in Mumbai if I go shopping there are like 10 people around me you know and I was never left alone basically.

But here I remember the first time I went out just to grocery shop I had to take my car and go and my heart was just like thumping.

as if I'm trying to do something that I've never done before.

And, but it just freed me and gave a sense of freedom.

And for me, life is not all about just my profession or just acting or just dancing.

It's experiencing every day, you know, the different kind of things you have to go through, the situations and how you deal with them and the life lessons.

You know, I love to live my life basically.

And So that's what was most attractive about it.

But talking about movies, you've done like 70-plus movies.

You know, everybody asks me that, but it's a very cliched answer.

People might say, oh, you're very diplomatic.

But it's true, because every movie we do, there's a little bit of me in the movie But if you like put a gun to my head and say no you have to say 1 movie Which you've really enjoyed I would say I Enjoyed doing that movie because we were a lot of actors together at every point in the movie,

Also, it talked about all the values that I believe in, a family, an extended family, and everybody living together in peace and harmony and all that.

And it would be hum aapke hai kaun, obviously.

So, after that question, here's a two-part question.

Part 1, is there ever pizza and movie night at the home when you put a Madhuri movie and all of you watch it?

Number 2, when you do do that or when your kids do watch a Madhuri movie, How judgmental are they about your performance?

As I was leaving home, my kids were watching cable, and 1 of my movies was on, Koila.

And they were like, you know, sitting in front of the TV, and I'm like, okay, I'm out of here.

I'm leaving So I left and I came back in the evening and on the computer on 1 of my kids computer.

There was a little note Hanging there, which said mom And I'm like, what's this?

So I just picked it up and it was, Dear Mom, why are you acting so funny in Koyla?

So for them, it's like, you know, It varies.

And I remember in Gulab Gang, there was this 1 shot where I raised my hand and I'm like the big boss, kind of, and I'm doing this.

They were walking like a duck, doing all that.

So nobody takes me seriously in my family.

I think the other comment to make is we don't wear stars on our shoulders.

And when we go home, all of that turns off.

In fact, all of the trophies you were talking about are all in the office.

I mean, I've only seen like a handful since we've been married, mainly because of the Hindi issue.

But the issue is, I think it's about being grounded and not getting caught up in your careers.

I mean, whether it's a heart surgeon or an actress or anything else, that's just a job.

You're passionate about what you do, but it's the holistic kind of balance that you strike in your life.

And just remember that you're very fortunate, and every 1 of us is in this room.

And there's a lot of people who don't have that.

And so the idea is to think of others when you do stuff, and to do it for those reasons rather than for yourself.

Although we're very passionate about what we do, regardless of what it is.

But I would say the movie nights are generally the Transformers or something like that with the boys.

And just hanging out and having some fun.

My in-laws, I'm sorry, my family came from Dadar in Mumbai, if you guys have been to Mumbai at all.

And I would go back there every summer to hang out with my grandma and grandpa.

And so I'd been there and seen it change over 40 years.

If you go there now, not just Mumbai, but Delhi, Bangalore, any of these cities, it's come in such a direction.

I don't know if you call it forward, sideways, upside down, whatever, but it's becoming a Western culture very quickly.

They have some significant issues they grapple with, and yet the culture is so beautiful.

And I call Mumbai my Manhattan of sorts, because you can get food any time of day.

I mean, traffic is the same everywhere, I found out today.

And it was the same in LA, and same in Mumbai, and whatnot.

But I think overall, it's been an amazing experience.

And I would recommend, if you guys get some time, I mean, a lot of you guys I see in the audience are from India originally, and so you understand it.

And I mean, this new prime minister and whatnot is bringing us in a direction which is unfathomed.

And even in the last 10 years, the number of advances are amazing.

Now, you moved back to India, and the first question my daughter had for me was, does she go to Sabji Mandi herself now?

I think it's back to square 1, where I have to pick and choose where I can be or where I can go.

But I do try, you know, because after living in Denver and after being so independent, when you go back and everything is a little different then, because when you live there, you take everything for granted, you know.

Oh, my maid is going to go and get this, that, and I think.

But now when you've lived by yourself and done everything, it's like, I want to go, but how do I do it?

So then I'll wear my hat or my big gold glares or something like that and I feel, oh, this is the proper disguise, nobody's gonna look at me.

And while you're buying your veggies or whatever, and then somebody comes in and whispers, can I have an autograph, please?

There's not many places she can go in public.

Me, on the other hand, I'll go by train, I'll go by bus, and my people will say, no, you can't do that.

The hardest part for me is that I can't change a light bulb without someone saying, no, you've got to call this person or do this.

And so it's been that way a little bit of a change.

But for her, I mean, in the US, she would put together the IKEA furniture and the other stuff we got.

And from what little I know, she was much better at it than Ram, OK?

So let's talk about Dance with Madhuri Ram.

You're trying to build a community of artists, of dancers, people who love dancing, people who want to learn dancing.

So you know, the thing is, I kind of hinted at this earlier.

Every single 1 of us has a little genius in them, right?

And it just dawned on us that what if Pablo Picasso never got his pencil or pen or paintbrush?

What if Marie Curie never got an opportunity to go and learn?

And what if Einstein never had an opportunity to write his thesis?

And then think, how many people in the world never have that opportunity.

And so, for me, I started out with this health construct to take good evidence-based medicine to everyone on the planet.

Because what I saw was that there were a lot of people who weren't getting the opportunities that all of us have in this room and in the US.

And even in the US for that matter, when I was practicing several years ago, 38 million people never had insurance.

And the idea is that medicine is 1 of those things that everyone should have, but it went further than that.

And what it became was a platform where we could experiment and we could teach people in a fun and social manner.

So this is 1 of those things where if you gamify learning, you can change the way people learn.

I remember learning when I was growing up that it was all rote memorization, right?

You must learn this and then throw it up on the desk and you will do well.

But my feeling is that that really leaves out the bell curve, right?

And so what we've done is tried to make it fun and social.

At the same time, we've taken dance in particular and used it to stay fit.

So I put a fitness band on her, and in 15 minutes, her heart rate sustained was 130 to 160, and her caloric burn was 400 calories.

And we had like 175 hours of viewing per month.

Became like our number 1 most viewed thing.

And so what we found is people were learning, certainly, but they were using dance as a means to work out.

And if you think about it, what would you rather do?

Be on a treadmill, you know, looking at a TV or whatever, or have some beautiful woman in front of you taking you through the moves and losing calories in 15 minutes?

And then what we did was we knit that together with a social network and a marketplace.

So now when these people learn, they're not just learning, but they're creating video resumes.

And what they're doing is essentially becoming marketable.

So what we're doing is we're discovering talent from all over the planet, not just from, you know, 1 area.

I would love to cue that 1 video, if we have it, on the Ajahn Nachole piece.

I think this tells the story very nicely.

So all in all, it became a passion play in that what could we do to change people's lives?

And dance was really the tip of the iceberg, because if you take this and build it out to the other verticals, it becomes incredibly thin.

So, before we actually start the lesson, I want you to get familiar with some of the hand mudras.

Your right hand with the lotus and the other hand is like a deer hand.

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Madhuri Dixit-Nene & Dr. Shriram Nene | Fireside Chat | Talks at Google