'She Was Ready To Kill Me': When Sonali Bendre's Lack Of Dance Training Frustrated Saroj Khan

Sonali Bendre has always been candid about the challenges she faced during her early years in the industry. While she has been a part of some of Bollywood’s most iconic songs, she has never considered herself a trained dancer. In fact, her struggles with dance once frustrated legendary choreographer, Saroj Khan so much that she was almost ‘ready to kill’ her! Read on to know the whole story.

Sonali Bendre shared her experience working with Saroj Khan

Saroj Khan was one of Bollywood’s most renowned choreographers, shaping countless iconic dance numbers throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. As the industry’s first female choreographer, she was known for her strict discipline and unwavering commitment to perfection. However, for Sonali, matching the steps was a nightmare. In an old interview with Mid-Day, Sonali recalled her struggle during the song rehearsals. She confessed:

“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 would teach me.”

Sonali Bendre recalled her dance numbers were a bigger hit than her films

Unlike today’s trained Bollywood actresses, Sonali had entered the industry without prior experience in dance or acting. She admitted that every dance sequence caused her sleepless nights and immense stress. She discussed the irony of it by saying:

“It is ironical. 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 of the songs that I was featured in have done well.”

Sonali Bendre recalls how she ended up in Humma Humma

During the same interview, Sonali also shared how she ended up performing in the iconic song Humma Humma from Mani Ratnam’s film, Bombay. For those unaware, Humma Humma was one of the biggest chartbusters of the ’90s, featuring Sonali in a memorable dance sequence. Reflecting on it, she candidly admitted that, even today, she wonders how she was chosen for the song. She was quoted as saying:

“I felt bad that I didn’t have the movie, just one song… There was an equal amount 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.”

When Sonali Bendre recalled feeling claustrophobic during the shoot of Sarfarosh

Sonali Bendre starred alongside Aamir Khan, Naseeruddin Shah and Smita Jaykar in the 1999 action thriller, Sarfarosh. A few months ago, during a special screening event of the film, the actress revealed that she had not seen the film for 25 years since its release. She recalled struggling with claustrophobia, which led her to mess up the filming of a song.

Saroj Khan, who passed away in 2020, left behind a legacy of timeless choreography. And for Sonali, her journey from dreading dance numbers to being remembered for them is nothing short of remarkable!

Also Read: Bhagyashree Once Shared How Post Delivery, Her Husband Was Asked About Her Relation With Salman Khan

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