Saroj Khan

Born Name: Nirmala Singh Nagpal
Date of Birth: 22 November 1948
Place of Birth: Bombay, Bombay State, Dominion of India
(Present day: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India)
Died: 3 July 2020 (aged 71), Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Cause of death: Cardiac arrest
Nationality: Indian
Occupation: Choreographer
Years active: 1948—2020
Spouse(s): B. Sohanlal(m. 1961; separated 1965), Sardar Roshan Khan (m. 1975; her death 2020)
Children: 4 (Sukyna Khan, Hina Khan , Hamid Khan)

Saroj Khan (born Nirmala Nagpal; 22 November 1948 – 3 July 2020) was one of the most prominent and leading Indian dance choreographers in Hindi cinema. She was born at the Bombay State (present day Maharashtra), India. With a career span of over forty years, she choreographed more than 2000 songs and is known as "The Mother of Dance/Choreography in India". She died on 3 July 2020 due to a sudden cardiac arrest..

Career
Nirmala, was born on 22 November 1948 to Khatri Sikh family. Her parents Kishanchand Sadhu Singh and Noni Singh had migrated to Mumbai from NWFP after the partition of India. She started her career as a child artist at the age of three with the film Nazarana as child Shyama, and a background dancer in the late 1950s. She learnt dance while working under film choreographer B. Sohanlal ,she married him at the age of 13 while he was 43 years and was already married with 4 children which she did not know at the time of marriage. In 1975, she got married to businessman Sardar Roshan Khan. They were blessed with a daughter, Sukaina khan, who is known to run a dance institute in Dubai. Later, she herself shifted to choreography, first as an assistant choreographer and later getting her break as an independent choreographer, with Geeta Mera Naam (1974). However, she had to wait many years to receive acclaim, which came with her work with Sridevi; Hawa Hawai in Mr India (1987), Nagina (1986) and Chandni (1989), and later with Madhuri Dixit, starting with the hit Ek Do Teen in Tezaab (1988), Tamma Tamma Loge in Thanedaar (1990) and Dhak Dhak Karne Laga in Beta (1992). Thereafter, she went on to become one of the most successful Bollywood choreographers.

In 2014, Khan worked with Madhuri Dixit again in Gulaab Gang. She was on the advisory board of Rishihood University.

Television appearances
Saroj Khan appeared on a reality dance show as a member of the jury in 2005 Nach Baliye, which aired on STAR One along with two other judges. She also appeared in the second season of the same show. She has recently been a judge for the show Ustaadon Ka Ustaad, which is aired on Sony Entertainment Television (India). She appeared on the 2008 show Nachle Ve with Saroj Khan, which was aired on NDTV Imagine. She choreographed for this show. She appeared on Sony's Boogie Woogie (TV series) show from December 2008 as one of the judges, along with Javed Jaffrey, Naved Jaffrey and Ravi Behl. She was a judge on the third season of a popular show – Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, which began on 27 February 2009 and was aired on Sony Entertainment Television (India) alongside former Nach Baliye judge Vaibhavi Merchant and actress Juhi Chawla.

She was judging the dance reality show Nachle Ve with Saroj Khan. She has hosted and completed Nachle Ve with Saroj Khan.

In 2012, The Saroj Khan Story, a documentary produced by PSBT and Films Division of India and directed by Nidhi Tuli was released.

She appeared in Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah as Judge in a Dance Competition.

Death
Saroj Khan was admitted to Guru Nanak Hospital at Bandra, Mumbai on 17 June 2020, because of breathing difficulties, and died of cardiac arrest at 1:52 AM IST early on Friday, 3 July 2020. She was 71 at the time of her death. Saroj Khan is survived by son Hamid Khan and daughters Hina Khan and Sukainae Khan.