Bollywood's master choreographer isn’t known to be particularly sugary and kind to stars, forget probing journalists. So I try to be as well mannered as possible when I meet Saroj Khan at Mumbai’s Riverdale Studios where she is shooting for her forthcoming television show Nachle Ve With Saroj Khan where she shares her dancing skills with viewers. “I don’t have to tolerate star tantrums - that’s one good thing about a show like this,” says Khan, offering us a taste of her candour.
Recently, when her most famous pupil Madhuri Dixit — whom she fondly calls MD — made a comeback with Yash Raj Films’ Aaja Nachle, the choreographer was not Khan but Vaibhavi Merchant. Even as I raise the tattle du jour, Khan tries to clear the smoke, unsuccessfully. “My style has become deeply ingrained in Madhuri’s dance and body movements. No wonder Aaja Nachle’s choreography reminded people of me. You can’t blame Vaibhavi,” she says.
Her disinterest in the new Hindi cinema and the current crop of heroines is apparent. She says the good days of Bollywood choreography ended with the dancing queen’s era — and adds that everything is hunky dory between the two. “MD is my child. Like always, she phoned me when she returned to India and I asked her whether she had put on weight. She spoke to me again a few days before she left,” she says. “The same goes for my equation with Yashji. I know he will ask me to choreograph whenever he directs a movie.”
Among the new heroines, Khan’s only favourite is Vidya Balan. “I’d love to train her. I have seen traces of Madhuri in her,” she says. However, for her debut film as director, Sati, Khan zeroed in on Priyanka Chopra. “The film is shelved at present. The subject is controversial,” says Khan. “The film would have had three heroines but none of the lead roles was good enough for Madhuri.”
And what about bete noire Farah Khan? “I can’t give any credit to Farah for direction. Om Shanti Om hardly required any directorial skills,” she says. “It’s an out-and-out Shah Rukh Khan show.” Oops, she did it again
Her disinterest in the new Hindi cinema and the current crop of heroines is apparent. She says the good days of Bollywood choreography ended with the dancing queen’s era — and adds that everything is hunky dory between the two. “MD is my child. Like always, she phoned me when she returned to India and I asked her whether she had put on weight. She spoke to me again a few days before she left,” she says. “The same goes for my equation with Yashji. I know he will ask me to choreograph whenever he directs a movie.”
Among the new heroines, Khan’s only favourite is Vidya Balan. “I’d love to train her. I have seen traces of Madhuri in her,” she says. However, for her debut film as director, Sati, Khan zeroed in on Priyanka Chopra. “The film is shelved at present. The subject is controversial,” says Khan. “The film would have had three heroines but none of the lead roles was good enough for Madhuri.”
And what about bete noire Farah Khan? “I can’t give any credit to Farah for direction. Om Shanti Om hardly required any directorial skills,” she says. “It’s an out-and-out Shah Rukh Khan show.” Oops, she did it again
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