BOMBAY TIMES (July 4, 2020)

Saroj Khan, one of India’s most illustrious choreographers, passed away at the age of 71 on Friday morning after suffering a cardiac arrest. The three-time National Awardwinning choreographer was laid to rest in a cemetery in Malad. With the passing of Saroj Khan, Bollywood has lost its iconic ‘Masterji’.

Born Nirmala Nagpal, she entered the industry as a child artiste at the age of three. Soon after, she became a background dancer and by the time she was in her teens, she was an assistant choreographer. Saroj Khan got married to film choreographer B Sohanlal at the age of 13 and had her first child at the age of 14. However, she continued to work. She went on to train legendary actresses like Vyjanthimala, Nutan and Helen, among others.

Saroj Khan got her first break as an independent choreographer in 1974 with Sadhana’s Geeta Mera Naam. She went on to choreograph for several movies, but most importantly, she went on to carve a niche for herself as a choreographer in a profession largely dominated by men in that era. The choreographer, who worked on the principle that ‘dance chehre pe dikhna chahiye’, came into prominence with two actresses, Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit, in the late 80s and 90s.

In fact, the Filmfare Award initiated a category for Best Choreography in 1989, where she walked away with the award for her stunning work in the song, Ek Do Teen (Tezaab, 1988). She created some unforgettable dance sequences like Main Teri Dushman (Nagina, 1986), Hawa Hawaii, Kaante Nahi Kat Te (Mr India, 1987), Mere Haathon Main Nau Nau (Chandni, 1989) and Na Jaane Kahan Se Aayi (Chaalbaaz,1989) with Sridevi. She also continued her Tezaab magic with Madhuri in Humko Aajkal Hai (Sailaab, 1990), Tamma Tamma (Thaanedar, 1990), Dhak Dhak Karne Laga (Beta, 1992), Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai (Khalnayak, 1993), Dola Re Dola and Maar Daala (Devdas, 2000). Interestingly, her swan-song, too, is the dance sequence she choreographed for Madhuri in Tabaah Ho Gaye (Kalank, 2019).

In an interview with Bombay Times recently, Madhuri had said, “Saroj ji and I made sure that each song looked different. It could have been easy for us to stick to a hook step because that looked good in the previous song. But, we tried new choreography and created new movements each time that people enjoyed. She is a genius and I love her.”

— With inputs from Onkar Kulkarni and Tanvi Trivedi






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SHE WAS PURE TALENT AND GIFTED: HELEN
Saroj ji and I learnt Kathak from the same masterji. She was just an eight-year-old girl back then, but she was extremely talented. She is instrumental in giving Srideviji and Madhuri ji an extra push and contributed a lot to their stardom. With her talent, she revolutionised the song-and-dance culture in Bollywood. Not only was she good with her classical moves, but she was also proficient at adding sensuous twists to dance routines. She was pure talent and gifted. The last time I worked with her was when she choreographed a song for Khamoshi: The Musical (1996). During the rehearsals, I would tell her, ‘Sarojji I can’t do your steps’. She would laugh and say that by making such a statement, I was embarrassing her.

MY EXISTENCE IN BOLLYWOOD IS BECAUSE OF HER: AHMED KHAN
My existence in Bollywood is only because of Saroj Khan. She was impressed with my dancing skills as a child actor in Mr India. I was just 11 years old then. When I turned 16, I told my mother that I wanted to try my hand at movies, and she introduced me to her friend Saroj ji. I worked with her as an assistant, and four years later, I got Rangeela. We shared a mother-son equation. We would fight a lot. Whenever I would visit her, she would scold me for something, or I would scold her for not taking care of her health. I wanted her to rest a bit, but she wasn’t someone who wanted to do that. She always wanted to be on a film set or at a rehearsal hall. Even at this age, she was choreographing songs.

NO ONE CAN TAKE HER PLACE: REMO D’SOUZA
Saroj ji’s death is a big loss to the dance fraternity. She was a legend, and I don’t think anybody can take her place. I consider myself very lucky that I got to train under her, choreograph her, direct her and also choreograph along with her. In my film ABCD, Prabhudheva sir, Ganesh Acharya, Saroj ji and I worked on the song Ratti Patti together. Our last song together was in Kalank. She was like family, and I will miss her and our conversations a lot.