Anil Kapoor has shared how choreographer Saroj Khan had a huge impact on his career. Saroj passed away yesterday after suffering a cardiac arrest. She was 71. Saroj’s Bollywood career took off to soaring heights when she choreographed Anil’s and Sridevi’s iconic film Mr India. She also received her first Filmfare Award for Best Choreographer for his and Madhuri Dixit’s film Tezaab.
Writing for a leading tabloid, Anil recounted how Saroj made him look romantic as well as macho while he wasn’t as good a dancer as his female co-stars like Sridevi, Madhuri, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and others. He wrote, “My leading ladies, including Sridevi, Madhuri, or Aishwarya (Rai) were fabulous dancers while I’m technically not a dancer-dancer. So, I’m grateful to Sarojji that on screen I did not come across as any less.”
Anil also recalled how Saroj trained Madhuri for the song Ek Do Teen and said, “A year after Mr India, Tezaab released. Madhuri (Dixit) was still a relative newcomer when we handed her over to Sarojji. After two weeks of rehearsal, she called Chandra (director N Chandra) and me to Satyam Hall and Madhuri performed to Ek Do Teen for us. I was blown over by the moves and the energy. We shot the song in Mehboob Studio and watching it, I was like, “Oh God, what do I do!” I got them to shoot a male version with me which was not there in the script in front of where Shah Rukh’s (Khan) bungalow stands today.”
Anil also paid a tribute to the veteran choreographer by posting a video featuring Madhuri, Sridevi, Saroj and him from the sets of different films. He wrote a heartfelt note for Saroj as well.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror/Instagram)
