Juhi Chawla, among a number of other celebrities, appears deeply saddened over the sudden loss of choreographer Saroj Khan.
Taking a trip down memory lane during her interview with Mid-Day, the actress claims, "I have many memories of working with her very early on in my career and right up to Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, which was a couple of years ago where Vaibhavi Merchant, Saroj ji and I were judges on the show.
"Saroj ji was sheer magic, she was head and shoulder above all, she would make her heroines look and perform like queens. Like a lot of choreographers, Saroj ji was short, a little plump, not the perfect face or figure but when she would dance you couldn't take your eyes off her, everybody else around her faded into oblivion.
"She was mesmerising, she had the finest sense of shot-taking from a direction point of view, her expressions were fantastic - whether it was naughty, seductive, sad, fun or whatever. Her sensibility in every department was top notch. There was finesse in her every shot, she had a fine sense of humour, she was superlative, she was iconic."
She added, "I remember doing a look test beforehand, and then I had to face the camera for the first time in Chandivali Studios for the song Lagi Aaj Sawan. I was very new, shooting for Yash Chopra ji for a film starring big stars and I was going to do the song… mercifully the shots were just me but then it was with the top choreographer of that time, Saroj ji!"
Reminiscing upon her earlier days during shoots, "I just hoped everything went well. It was an outdoor shoot amongst the greens, Saroj ji would show me the shot and the cameras would start rolling. It was probably my fortunate day because every first or second would be okayed. I remember my staff telling me that it's not easy getting Saroj ji to say 'okay'; if the shot doesn't go well you don't get an okay."
"Some of my most famous songs have been choreographed by her. We have the title track for Hum Hai Rahi Pyar Ke, we did Main koi aisa geet gaoon from Yes Boss, Ishq hua kaise hua from Ishq, Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, and so many more."