Meenakshi Sheshadri with her students during a show organised by her (now defunct) dance school called Cherish

Back in 2004, it was at the Gaylord Texas Resort & Convention Center where the AAHOA (Asian American Hotel Owners Association) Convention was being held, that I met this heroine of ‘Hero’ for the first time.

Meenakshi with her daughter at home

After exchanging a few words, she informed me that she had to rush to pick her daughter from school but invited me over to her house for the interview. I was very excited and visited her beautiful double-storied house in Plano, Texas, where she seemed very happy taking care of household chores along with her loving and supportive husband and two kids.

Life changed for the 80s’ and 90s’ most talked about cine star Meenakshi Sheshadri when she stepped out of her comfort zone. The sensational diva of Bollywood departed her ‘comfort zone’, India, in 1995 and married US-based investment banker Harish Mysore.

“It was not all that easy for me to settle down in the US,” as told by Meenakshi (in the 2004 interview), “belonging from a very indo-centric background, life abroad shook me.”

The journey from Mumbai’s hustle bustle and shooting sets to the isolated locales of Texas was unimaginable. The actress/dancer laughs out aloud on those bygone days when going to India was just an easy escape from reality.

Meenakshi with her banker husband Harish Mysore and her children

In my conversation with Meenakshi, almost a decade back, she expressed how she enjoys taking care of her daughter Kendra and son Josh. She was also then successfully operating her own dance school. For Meenakshi, dance was always a passion, she related herself more closely as a dancer than an actress. With the burning desire to continue the art and extend this culture in a foreign land, Meenakshi, with the full support of Harish, started Cherish Dance School.

“This three-year-old dance school goes beyond teaching dance. It is an assembly of talented dancers, a voluntary body to enhance multi-culture, revealing the best talent of people of all ages,” she had informed.

Meenakshi with her student at her (now defunct) dance school called Cherish

Harish’s sister played a central part in introducing the two while in India and thus started the eternal love story. From being the heartthrob of millions to becoming the mommy next door, Meenakshi was one of the actresses who I really enjoyed interviewing.

She kept in touch with me, we spoke several times till around 2006, she came across as a good friend who cherishes every moment of her life. Meenakshi accumulated success in terms of quality and not quantity. Her priorities during our last interview became very clear – “Family is everything for me,” she had told me.

The photos were taken a decade back when the author interviewed her. That was the last time Meenakshi Sheshadri spoke to the press. She never appeared in an interview again. Reports say that she still stays at her address in Plano, Texas, USA but has closed down her dance school.

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