New Delhi:
Saroj Khan died on July 3, 2020. What she left behind was a lasting legacy and an indelible mark as one of the most celebrated choreographers in Indian cinema. The maestro behind the signature steps of Ek Do Teen and Dola Re Dola had a tumultuous life, though. She was married off at the tender age of 13, only to realise later that her marriage was illegal. She had to grow up way too soon, and the most surprising thing is that her illustrious career in the movies happened by fluke.
A Secret Marriage
Saroj Khan entered the glitzy world of cinema at just 3.
She had told Koshish Se Kaamyaabi Tak, “My father had died, and I had to keep the home running. I became a group dancer. I was studying and wanted to become a doctor, but God had other plans.”
But the turning point came when she met dance director Sohanlal on a set, where he noticed her not only doing her steps, but Helen’s too. When she was asked to perform the whole dance, Saroj Khan did so confidently, and that bagged her a job as Sohanlal’s assistant at just 12 years old.
However, it was more than that, as at just 13, she married thirty-years-older Sohanlal-only to be betrayed later when she learnt that the marriage was illegal and he was already married with four children. Saroj Khan got pregnant at 14.
She had told the BBC, “I did not know what marriage meant at that time. He just put a black thread around my neck one day and I thought I was married.”
But life had other plans when she met businessman Sardar Roshan Khan in 1975, who proposed marriage to her. The only condition she had was for him to adopt her children from her first marriage. Saroj Khan, who was a Punjabi Hindu, converted to Islam for him, as he accepted her one condition.
Pain Never Left Her
Inevitable heartbreak seemed to follow the ace choreographer everywhere. Saroj Khan lost a baby girl in infancy who died within eight months of her birth. This was from her first marriage to Sohanlal.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali had once told Quint, “She was in a lot of pain, but she would lie down on the floor and give instructions. She shot for 15 days. Even from a hospital bed after Devdas released, Saroj’s first question was: ‘Dola Re Dola pe paise miley ya nahin?’ (Did the audience shower coins on Dola Re Dola?) That was her passion.”
Saroj Khan died during the first COVID pandemic wave. She is survived by her second husband, Sardar Roshan Khan, and her son Hamid Khan (also known as Raju Khan) from her first husband Sohanlal, and daughter Sukaina Khan from her second marriage.
As per a Times of India report, her 42-year-old daughter Kuku died in 2011 due to liver failure, multi-organ failure and septicaemia.
