Artistes in the city remembered Saroj Khan as an ever-smiling, simple and unassuming person, who was devoted to her work and was not after publicity. She was an excellent teacher, they said.
Saroj Khan, 71, a bollywood choreographer, passed away in a Mumbai hospital on Friday morning. The news was received with shock and dismay by the local artist community.
She had visited the city in February 2010 for final audition of children's dance realty show 'Chak Dhoom Dhoom'.
Artist Raj Saini regrets that he could not present a portrait of Saroj Khan, which he had painted last year, to her. The 2 feet by 1.5 feet oil-on-canvas portrays the legendary choreographer sporting a winsome smile. "I was seeking appointment with her for the past one year. I also visited Mumbai in December last year but could not meet her as she was away at some distant location." he said.
It was finally decided that he would present the painting to her at a programme to be organised at Nagpur in March this year. But due to lockdown the event was cancelled. "Now, the painting is my tribute to her and I will present it to her family," Saini said.
He said that he was a great admirer of Saroj Khan. "I simply loved her work," he said.
Another artist Sunil Sonhiya recalled his meeting with Saroj Khan in 2001. "Ram Gopal Verma's 'Company' was being shot at Mumbai's Filmistan Studio. As a junior artist, I, too, was present on the sets when I suddenly saw her. She had come to direct a dance sequence. I requested her to get a photo clicked with me," he said. "Mere saath kya photo loge, yahan stars hai, unke saath lo," she told him, pointing to Manoj Bajpayee and Viivek Oberoi. However, when Sunil insisted, she called a photographer present on the sets and posed with him for a photograph. "Inse paise nahin lena," she instructed the photographer.
Coincidentally, Sunil posted the old, paling picture on his FB page on June 13 and a few days later came the news that she has been admitted to a hospital.
"I loved her style. I never missed a single episode of Nach Baliye – a TV talent in which she was a judge. And I saw all her interviews on TV," he said.
Joy Wadhwani, a choreographer and director of Natrajan Performing Arts and Welfare Society', said that he considered Saroj Khan his guru. "I had attended a workshop conducted by her at Mumbai in 2013 and it was a very enriching experience," he said. He was very impressed by Saroj Khan's wide and deep knowledge of various dance forms including Western, classical and folk. "Sitting on a chair, she could visualise the entire sequence of steps of a dance. And she was a great judge of the potential of artistes. She knew what Madhuri Dixit could do and what Aishwarya Rai was capable of." he said.
"She gave many tips to me and one of them was that to become a good choreographer, one has to first become a good dancer," he said.
Kulja Gupta, a make-up artist and a fan of Saroj Khan said that the news of the demise of her idol had shocked her. "Her voice was so sweet. Her steps were so measured. Her teaching style was so good," Kulja said.
