When Sonali Bendre’s Lack Of Dance Training Frustrated Saroj Khan: ‘She Was Ready To Kill Me’ Read On!
Sonali Bendre struggled to perform dancing routines at times, especially under Saroj Khan’s harsh coaching. Sonali Bendre has always been open about the difficulties she encountered in her early career. One famous choreographer, Saroj Khan, was so irritated by her dance difficulties that she was practically “ready to kill” her! Continue reading to know the full story.
Sonali Bendre revealed her experience working with Saroj Khan
One of Bollywood’s most well-known choreographers, Saroj Khan created innumerable memorable dance pieces in the 1990s and early 2000s. She was the first female choreographer in the profession and was renowned for her meticulousness and dedication. Sonali, however, had a terrible time matching the steps. Sonali talked about her difficulties during the song preparations in a previous interview with Mid-Day. She admitted:
“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. Every hour I wasn’t working, I was trying to learn how to dance… Ahmed (Khan) was Saroj ji’s assistant at that time… he would… take me to a rehearsal hall and he will teach me.”
Sonali Bendre recalled her dance numbers were a bigger hit than her films
Sonali had no dance or acting background before entering the business, in contrast to today’s well-trained Bollywood actresses. She acknowledged that she experienced extreme stress and restless nights after every dancing routine. She talked about the irony of it by stating:
“It is ironic. I am not a trained dancer. I am not a trained actor. I have never done theatre. So songs, shooting for a song was a nightmare for me. I went through sleepless nights. I would get acidity because of the stress I was going through. I was always scared of songs… Even if the movie has not done well, I have done well only because the songs that I was featured in have done well.”
Sonali Bendre recollects how she ended up in Humma Humma
During the same interview, Sonali revealed how she ended up performing the legendary song Humma Humma from Mani Ratnam’s film Bombay. For those who don’t know, Sonali starred in a spectacular dance scene in Humma Humma, one of the biggest chartbusters of the 1990s. After giving it some thought, she openly acknowledged that she still questions how she was selected for the song. She was cited as saying:
“I felt bad that I didn’t have the movie, just one song… There were an equal number of people saying that I shouldn’t be doing it, or I should be doing it… Till date, I don’t know why I landed it, but I remember eventually taking it on. I remember I was supposed to dance with Prabhu Deva’s brother.”
Saroj Khan passed away in 2020, leaving behind a legacy of timeless choreography.
