Hindi cinema's veteran choreographer Saroj Khan made many actresses memorable on screen with her dance steps. But there came a period in her life when, after the heart attack, she felt alone. Filmmaker and producer Mehmood Ali told in a conversation with Hindi Rush that no one had reached out to Saroj Khan during that difficult time. He was also sad that people in the film industry called him wretched.
Mahmood Ali told that once during the shooting in London, after packup, Saroj Khan came to him and said emotionally, 'Mahmood, everyone calls me wretched. Am I too bad for direction? I want to direct, I don't want to die like this. Hearing this from Saroj Khan, Mehmood decided to give her a chance to direct the film. After this he offered to hand over the responsibility of directing his film to Saroj Khan.
This is how Mahmood fulfilled his dream of becoming a director.
Mahmood Ali told that to give Saroj Khan a chance to direct, he immediately started preparing for the film. He first asked Saroj Khan if she would direct the film. Saroj surprisingly said that many things are required to make a film like script, actors and costumes. But Mahmood remained firm on his decision.
After this he called Ravi Kishan to work in the film. Ravi Kishan was doing Deepak Sawant's film at that time. Mehmood spoke to Deepak Sawant and offered to do a song for free. After this he also associated actress Nagma and music director with this project. In this way the path was prepared for Saroj Khan to become a director.
Out of the salary of one lakh rupees, she used to distribute 90 thousand rupees.
Mahmood Ali also mentioned Saroj Khan's generosity and the work done for the dancers. He told that when Saroj Khan used to earn one lakh rupees, she used to distribute about 90 thousand rupees among the people of her team. Although some people called her greedy, she was very passionate about her work and her students.
She told that after the film 'Tezaab', Saroj Khan started thinking about the facilities of the dancers working with her. At that time, there were not even basic facilities like washroom for female dancers during shooting. Saroj Khan raised her voice for this and tried to provide better facilities to the dancers. According to Mahmood, today the entire dance industry should be thankful for his contribution.
Saroj Khan was very strict about her work
Mahmood told that Saroj Khan had a very outspoken nature. She did not tolerate any kind of negligence in her work. She used to get angry if there was even the slightest mistake in her dance steps. He believed that unless the dance is done properly, the effect of the song will not be there. She used to do choreography according to the tune and mood of the song.
Mahmood also mentioned an incident that happened with Mandakini. He told that once he was angry with Saroj Khan's behavior and left the set. However, Saroj Khan's dedication towards her work was so much that she kept working regardless of her health.
Kept working on the set even after heart attack
Mahmood Ali told that even after Saroj Khan had a heart attack, she did not stay away from work. Despite the heart attack, she worked sitting at the monitor and was present on the set. Mahmood told that he was sent back after being given the facility to travel in business class. She used to talk about completing the film by 10 pm.
He also expressed grief over the presence of people from the film industry at the time of Saroj Khan's demise. According to Mahmood, very few people were present in the cemetery at the time of his funeral. He said that as long as an artist or technician is needed, people stay with him, but later he is forgotten.
Worked together in 32 films
Mehmood told that he met Saroj Khan in Aamir Khan's office. At that time he was working as a writer. He told his story to Saroj Khan, which she liked very much. Mehmood also told that he tried to connect actresses like Priyanka Chopra, Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Rai with this story, but things did not work out. Later, actresses of the second generation also refused to work with him for direction. He felt that Saroj Khan could choreograph but not direct.
Mehmood also shared some special examples of Saroj Khan's choreography. He told that during the shooting of the song 'Nimbooda' from the film 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam', Jimmy jeep was called to take aerial shots. That shot filmed with Aishwarya Rai was amazing. According to Mehmood, Saroj Khan was an expert in performing Mujra and also in choreographing it.
Mehmood told that he had worked with Saroj Khan in about 32 films. He considers him a very great artist. According to him, Saroj Khan had such understanding and skill of dance, which is seen in very few people. He said that Saroj Khan changed the lives of many artists and enhanced them with her skills.