Aditi Rao Hydari: Sarojji was the first person to tell me that I should come to Mumbai and become an actor

Aditi Rao Hydari remembers Saroj Khan, who choreographed her in her debut Tamil language film

Sringaram

: Dance of Love (2007). The actress played a devdasi in the Tamil film and shared her experience of working with Sarojji with Bombay Times.
She told us, “I’m really sad that I am not in Mumbai and couldn’t see her at the hospital. She was truly a legend and has left us such a huge legacy. Every pore of her face and body danced. When she used to show me what to do I’d forget to learn, I’d just be watching her. Her dance was mesmerising.”

It was Saroj Khan who told Aditi that she should come to Mumbai and pursue acting. “I was a dancer and I did Sringaram while I was still studying. I wanted to be an actor but didn’t know how to go about doing it. Wasn’t sure if it’s possible. Sarojji was the first person to tell me that I should come to Mumbai and become an actor. When she said it, I thought maybe I could.”

She called me three times after that
Once for the

Nuit Blanche

festival in Paris.
More recently for a kathak Style piece in a Marathi film

Rama Madhav

. We had only 6 hours to shoot and she taught me the piece herself. And once when her daughter was in hospital she wanted me to be with her so I went. If she wanted me to do something I did it for her.”

Aditi added, “She defined film choreography. She showed us how dancing is also about the face.”