Veteran Bollywood choreographer and three-time National Award winner Saroj Khan passed away at 71 of cardiac arrest on Friday. She was admitted to Mumbai’s Guru Nanak Hospital on 20 June after complaints of breathing difficulties. She was also tested for Covid-19 but her reports came negative. The legendary icon was popularly known as ‘Masterji’ and her last work was song “Tabaah ho gaye” featuring Madhuri Dixit in movie Kalank (2019).
Soon after her demise, tributes poured in from all corners of the nation including actors and filmmakers. Madhuri Dixit, Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Shilpa Shetty, Raveena Tandon and several other celebs mourned her demise. “I›m devastated by the loss of my friend and guru, Saroj Khan. Will always be grateful for her work in helping me reach my full potential in dance. The world has lost an amazingly talented person. I will miss you. My sincere condolences to the family. #RIPSarojji,” wrote Madhuri Dixit.
In a long post on social media, Amitabh Bachchan wrote that Saroj Khan gave the film industry rhythm, style, grace of movement and the art of converting the lyrics in a song to a meaning in dance. He remembered how on a chance meeting manymany years ago she gave him his best compliment while she was living in Dubai after her marriage. “When Don was released, she (Saroj Khan) said that she saw the film and then after, she would go to the theatre where it was released, at the time when my song ‘khaike paan” was on. She used to do it regularly every day… Coming from her was the ultimate,” wrote Bachchan.
The septuagenarian had choreographed some of the most memorable dance hits of the Indian Film Industry including songs like “Ek do teen”, “Humko aajkal hai intezar”, “Dola re dola”, etc. She also mentored India’s finest and leading actresses like Sridevi, Madhuri Dixit, Shilpa Shetty, Kareena Kapoor, among others. She choreographed more than 2,000 songs in her entire career and won three National Awards for best choreography for her work in films like Devdas, Jab We Met and the Tamil film Shringaram.
