Madhuri Dixit pays emotional tribute to late Saroj Khan on Guru Purnima – “There’s no one like her & there won’t be another like her”

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Veteran choreographer Saroj Khan, who had a long-lasting career in Bollywood, passed away. The 71-year-old, who was recently admitted to Guru Nanak Hospital for breathing issues, suffered cardiac arrest and breathed her last at 1.52 am early on July 3, 2020. Her burial ceremony took place on July 4 in Mumbai.

On the occasion of Guru Purnima on July 5, Madhuri Dixit shared with Saroj Khan. In the photo, she is seen hugging the choreographer. She wrote, “I still can’t believe master ji is no more. Losing a friend, philosopher & guide like her is devastating. It was difficult for me to put down my grief in words. I had spoken to her daughter when she was in the hospital & she told me that Saroj ji would be fine. Two days later, she was gone.”

“The Guru-shishya bond that we shared, the assurance that she would be my mother on the sets, I’ll miss everything. Today on the occasion of Guru Purnima, I pay my tribute to her,” she added.

“Nobody can make women look so beautiful, desirable & sensuous on-screen like her. She made everything look like poetry in motion. Smitten by her, I had told her, ‘Saroji ji, agar aap shakkar hoti na, I would add you in my cup of tea & drink it.’ She would laugh heartily at this. I’ll miss that playful laughter,” she said.

“The first time I met her was while shooting for Maine Rab Se from Karma. Saroj ji asked me so many questions, one being ‘Where did you learn to dance?’ Unfortunately, our sequence was removed from the song. I’ll miss her many questions,” she continued.

Speaking about her work ethic and praising her, Madhuri further added, “She was the rebel in the male-dominated profession. There were rough edges to her personality & I feel that’s because life had been pretty uneven to her. I’ll miss that determined & headstrong. Her Nazakat, the aadayein, the elegance of every move, I was besotted. I knew we would do a lot of songs together. So we decided not to repeat any of the movements. She agreed to create hook steps that people will identify with every song. We created so many movements with no knowledge about what they are called. Who knew Tamma Tamma step was Dab? I’ll miss inventing hook steps with her.”

Madhuri feels Saroj Khan’s death is a personal loss as she was not only her choreographer but also her mentor. “She was close to my family as well & this loss is deeply personal. There’s no one like her & there won’t be another like her. Saroj ji, I’ll miss everything about you. I’ll miss your ‘Perrrfect’!,” she wrote.

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I still can’t believe master ji is no more. Losing a friend, philosopher & guide like her is devastating. It was difficult for me to put down my grief in words. I had spoken to her daughter when she was in the hospital & she told me that Saroj ji would be fine. Two days later, she was gone.⁣⁣ ⁣ The Guru-shishya bond that we shared, the assurance that she would be my mother on the sets, I'll miss everything. Today on the occasion of Guru Purnima, I pay my tribute to her. ⁣⁣ ⁣ Nobody can make women look so beautiful, desirable & sensuous on-screen like her. She made everything look like poetry in motion. Smitten by her, I had told her, "Saroji ji, agar aap shakkar hoti na, I would add you in my cup of tea & drink it." She would laugh heartily at this. I'll miss that playful laughter.⁣ ⁣ The first time I met her was while shooting for Maine Rab Se from Karma. Saroj ji asked me so many questions, one being 'Where did you learn to dance?' Unfortunately, our sequence was removed from the song. I'll miss her many questions.⁣ ⁣ Saroj Khan was a game changer in the industry. She was the rebel in the male-dominated profession. There were rough edges to her personality & I feel that's because life had been pretty uneven to her. I'll miss that determined & headstrong woman.⁣⁣ ⁣ Dancing in front of the camera & dancing on stage are two different things. Saroj ji taught me how to romance the camera when we worked on Ek Do Teen. Such was the song’s popularity that Filmfare had to create the Best Choreography category to honour Saroj ji. I'll miss her resolve to push the envelope all the time. ⁣⁣ ⁣ Her Nazakat, the aadayein, the elegance of every move, I was besotted. I knew we would do a lot of songs together. So we decided not to repeat any of the movements. She agreed to create hook steps that people will identify with every song. We created so many movements with no knowledge about what they are called. Who knew Tamma Tamma step was Dab? I'lll miss inventing hook steps with her.⁣ ⁣ She was close to my family as well & this loss is deeply personal. There's no one like her & there won't be another like her. Saroj ji, I'll miss everything about you. I'll miss your 'Perrrfect'!

A post shared by Madhuri Dixit (@madhuridixitnene) on Jul 5, 2020 at 5:18am PDT

Through the late 80s and 90s, Madhuri ruled the big screen with her performances. Not only that, audiences often looked forward to her dance sequences. Some of her career's biggest song sequences were choreographed by Saroj Khan. Their collaboration had become the most successful one as filmmakers often roped Khan to choreograph Dixit's songs. Their collabs gave us some iconic songs like 'Ek Do Teen' (Tezaab), 'Chane Ke Khet Mein' (Anjaam), 'Tamma Tamma Loge' (Thanedaar), 'Dhak Dhak Karne Laga' (Beta), 'Choli Pe Peeche Kya' (Khalnayak, 1993). The 00s started with 'Dola Re Dola' (Devdas) that won Saroj Khan a National Award. They later went onto collaborate on Gulab Gang and the last song she choreographed for Madhuri was 'Tabaah Ho Gaye' in Kalank.

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