Terence Lewis reveals why Saroj Khan was more ‘abusive, aggressive’ than most male choreographers: ‘Industry’s ruthlessness killed the woman in her’

He further pointed out, “I don’t know if you have noticed, the male choreographers are comparatively calmer than the female choreographers. They are more abusive than the men.” To this, Harsh Limbachiya quickly added, “Farah ma’am”.

Terence continued his conversation and said, “And I will tell you why, it is because they have to prove it time and again that ‘Hey, don’t take me lightly, I will whack you otherwise’.”

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He added, “We men don’t have to do it as much; but as a woman, you have to, in this male-dominated industry. It’s a sad thing. People have killed the women in them. This is why they even behave, walk and talk like men.”

Saroj Khan started her career as a child artiste at the age of three and changed her name from Niramala to Saroj. At 13, she married her guru, B Sohanlal, with whom she had three children, one of who died as an infant. As he refused to give their children his name, she married a Pathaan and had one child with him. Eventually, she became the ‘Masterji’ of Bollywood through her work.

Recalling her experience working with Saroj Khan, Sonali Bendre once told Mid-Day, “I had done English Babu Desi Mem where Saroj Khan was ready to kill me because I couldn’t dance, and I was playing a bar dancer. Can you imagine what she was going through? I was struggling.”

Similarly, Shah Rukh Khan revealed how he got his iconic arm pose from Saroj Khan. During a live interaction at the Locarno Film Festival, Shah Rukh Khan recalled the origin of this step and said, “I remember saying to my choreographer Saroj Khan, ‘Ma’am, ready?’ She said, ‘Yes, but as you cannot do dips, you just stand there and put your arms out. I did dips for her and she was like, ‘No, no, don’t do it. It doesn’t look nice on you.’ So, she didn’t let me do the dip and I had to put my arms out.” Saroj Khan died of cardiac arrest in July 2020.