Dubai, (PTI): The premiere of Madhuri Dixit's come-back film here Thursday, a day before its launch in India, has received a lot of media hype and public enthusiasm, with the show's host and self-confessed admirer of the actress, artist M F Husain saying it was a "tribute" to the "phenomenon".

Madhuri marks her return to Bollywood after a six-year break in a musical "Aaja Nachle", where she portrays the character of a choreographer in New York who returns to India after her mentor dies.

Husain, who booked an entire show at the popular Lamcy theatre here for special guests, said that he was very eager to see the film even though he had seen 'rushes' of it.

The famous painter said the premiere was a "tribute" to Madhuri, who has remained a "phenonmenon despite missing from the entertainment scene for six years."

Though Madhuri had taken the long break from acting after her marriage to US-based surgeon Dr Sriram Nene, Husain still remains an ardent fan of the Bollywood actress.

Tickets for the movie were given to special invitees and bore Husain's autograph and a sketch of the Bollywood diva.

Before the screening, Husain visited an exhibition of his paintings of Madhuri at the foyer of the theatre.

"I have made these paintings based on her great hits. In fact, the paintings are a part of a series I have undertaken and will be exhibited sometime next year as my tribute to Bollywood, the biggest and greatest movie industry in the world," he said.

Husain is currently painting a series of huge panels that depict the glorious 100-year history of Indian cinema for the exhibition titled 'From the Silver Silence of Dadasaheb Phalke to the Golden Dazzle of Madhuri Dixit'.