Here we have a list of Bollywood's best choreographers and their better-halves, who made these masters of dance, groove to their tunes at home.
Their choreography has made even a non-dancer like Salman Khan shake a leg and set the silver screen on fire. They have choreographed the best of the dancing talents of the film industry. Whenever they choreographed the actors for any song, the audience lost their hearts to their latkas and jhatkas! They gave some of the most amazing signature steps to our favourite actors. That is the power of a Bollywood choreographer!
They are not just choreographers, but stars in themselves. But, has anyone of us ever peeped into their lives, like we do with other Bollywood celeb? Well, we did and got to know a lot about them! Here we have a list of B-town’s best choreographers and their better-halves, who made these masters of dance, groove to their tunes at home.
Bollywood industry's foremost choreographer, Saroj Khan, who has single-handedly given new dimensions to dance forms and choreography, breathed her last at the age of 72 in Mumbai.
Saroj Khan, born as Nirmala Kishanchand Sadhu Singh Nagpal, was popularly known as Masterji when it comes to choreography in Bollywood, started her tryst with dance as a child artist. It is said that, dancing prowess came naturally to her, and she used to memorise everyone’s dance moves. She was spotted by Sohanlal, a famous dance master of yesteryears when Saroj was going through Helen’s paces. Identifying her latent talent, he made Saroj his assistant. Khan was hardly 13 then.
Under the guidance of her master, who was a classical dancer and also a hard taskmaster, she honed her skills further. She credits her feat to Sohanlal. Of course, there was a teacher-disciple bond, but beyond that there was something else also. Stating that, Khan once said, “I was so much in love with my Guruji. If I saw another dancer with him I would burn with jealousy.”
Also Read: Life Of Saroj Khan: Married Her 41-Year-Old Guru-Dance Director B. Sohanlal When She Was 13-Year-Old
Sohanlal was 41, married and was a father of four children and Saroj was 13 and that is when they got married. When she was 14, she mothered their first child, Hamid Khan (a popular choreographer, known by the name of Raju Khan). She separated from him in the year 1965, but got reunited when he suffered a heart attack. She had one more child with him, their daughter, the late Hina Khan (cuckoo). Later, Sohanlal moved to Madras, leaving her and his two kids behind. It is reported, that afterwards, Saroj tied the knot with Sardar Roshan Khan and had a daughter named Sukaina khan, who now runs a dance institute in Dubai.
One of the most talented choreographers of modern time, Farah Khan had an interesting love saga. This multi-talented lady who is also a film maker, hardly knew that her first project as a director with Main Hoon Na, would change her life forever.
While working on the sets of the film, she met Shirish Kunder, who was also apparently working on the project. In no time they became good friends and started feeling for each other. Enjoying each other’s company thoroughly, sharing many common interests, they started spending most of the time together.
When Shirish was asked how he proposed Farah, he replied,
“It was a very private moment. There were only the two of us. We didn’t tell anyone because we didn’t want others to know about our private lives.”
Also Read: Drunk Shirish Confessed His Feelings For Farah At A Party, Later Put A Condition Before Dating
On 9th December 2004, the couple tied the knot, in a grand way. Despite many differences, like an inter-faith marriage and Kunder being eight years younger to her, nothing affected their relationship till date. In 2008, the couple was blessed with triplets, son Czar, and two daughters – Anya and Diva.
Prabhu Deva, started his career as a choreographer, and slowly moved to acting. The talented man, however, had a turbulent love life. In 1995, he got married to Ramlath. Though, much details aren’t available about their wedding, it is said to be a love marriage. Ramlath was a classical dancer and was a Muslim, but she converted to Hinduism to marry Prabhu. They were blessed with three sons. Unfortunately, Prabhu lost his eldest son Vishal, in December 2008.
Early 2009, opened a new chapter in his life, when the rumours of him getting close to Nayanthara, whom he was directing for Villu started doing the rounds. Initially, the duo kept mum, but in September 2010, Prabhu confessed being in love with the actress. He further mentioned, how he didn’t want her to continue her acting career post their marriage and be a homemaker.
Surprisingly, after 2009, she stopped signing new projects. However, it didn’t go well with his legally wedded wife Ramlath and she initiated a legal battle. After a nasty series of legal fights, finally, in July 2011, Prabhu and Ramlath brought an end to their 16-year-old marriage. He had to pay her heavy settlement, with cars, cash and property and she kept the custody of their two sons. On the other hand, the over-spending habit of Nayanthara and Prabhu’s frequent visit to Chennai to meet his sons, started souring their relationship. Ultimately, in 2012, the couple called it quit, after dating for four years.
Also Read: Prabhu Deva's Love Life: Affair With Nayanthara Led To His Divorce Only To Break Up With Her As Well
The most humble choreographer-turned-director of recent times, Remo D’Souza had his share of struggles to reach where he is today. He was spotted first in a dance number from the movie Rangeela, and there wasn’t any looking back thereafter. Idolising Michael Jackson, as his inspiration, Remo soon made it to the top league of choreographers in the industry. The dance reality show DID further worked in his popularity and made him a household name. But, despite the name and fame, he hasn’t changed a bit and the credit goes to his better-half Lizelle, who keeps him grounded. A very privy person, he never talks about his wife Lizelle, though she has been a strong pillar of support for him.
How they met, answering the question he once said,
"We met on sets of a dance shoot. Over years, she has become stronger mentally, as we have seen ups and downs together. She's the one who keeps me grounded — she constantly keeps reminding me not to change. And not only that, she is my biggest critic. I prefer spending my free time with my family as they mean the world to me.”
Lizelle, has been a doting wife. In his recent public appearances, Remo has been complimented a lot for his looks and the credit goes to her, who took keen interest in her husband’s look.
Luck has its own way of rewarding or punishing an individual. While a few of these famous dance gurus had happy professional as well as personal life, for a few others, it wasn’t the bed of roses!