Ailing Saroj Khan choreographed Devdas’ Dola Re amid lying on the floor
Ailing veteran choreographer Saroj Khan choreographed the Dola Re song on Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Madhuri Dixit amid lying on the floor. The choreography won for her 17 awards.
She was honoured with National Award for the Dola Re choreography from Sanjay Leela Bhansali directorial “Devdas”. The choreographer was very sick amidst the shoot that she had to lie down to give instructions.
It’s a well-known fact that India is credited as one of the largest film producers in the world, and though it may not always churn out top quality, the Indian film industry certainly makes up for it by offering the world something that no one else seems to have – choreographed dance numbers in the middle of the movie. Something that might appear alien to European or American audiences, is an intrinsic part of Indian films. Every era of Hindi films has a distinct song and dance style and for those who grew up in the 1990s, this era was defined by the choreographed songs of Saroj Khan. With popular songs like “Ek Do Teen”, “Choli Ke Peeche”, “Nimbooda Nimbooda” among many others, Saroj Khan’s dance steps were a part of the pop culture, but it was Devdas’ song “Dola re Dola” that won her her first National Film Award. Composed by Ismail Darbar, with lyrics by Nursat Badr, the vocals here were done by Shreya Ghoshal and Kavita Krishnamurthy. Such was the impact of the song that the sarees and jewellery worn by the actors, Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Rai, emerged as a part of mainstream fashion, and 21 years later, Karan Johar paid tribute to the song in his film Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani.
For Sanjay Leela Bhansali, he left no stone unturned in getting every element of the film just right. Reportedly made on a budget of Rs 50 crore, the making of Devdas was an arduous process, and so was the making of the song “Dola Re Dola”. Calling it the “toughest” song of her career, Saroj Khan once said that she saw it as a “feather in her cap.” This was also the song that had to deliver on the biggest promise of the film – the dance-off between Madhuri and Aishwarya. Both top actresses, and the best dancers of their generation, this music video had people comparing them throughout to see who would come out on top. Saroj was well aware of this and on top of that, she also had to make sure that both actresses had enough to perform, so it wouldn’t look like one was given preference over the other.
News Edit KV Raman
