When it comes to the field of choreography in Bollywood, there have been only a handful of women choreographers. Two names that come to mind instinctly are the late Saroj Khan and choreographer-filmmaker Farah Khan. In a podcast on Bharti TV, choreographer Terence Lewis explains why the two women choreographers had to be more “aggressive” to make a mark in the male-dominated industry.

What Terence said

“People who questioned, ‘Why does she abuse or behave so rudely’, they need to know it is extremely difficult for women to work in this industry where it is dominated with men. They have to be rough and strong. The ruthlessness of the industry kills the women in them. They have to turn into men to survive in the industry,” said Terence, referring to Saroj Khan.

He then added that women choreographers like her and Farah had to be less “calmer” and “more abusive” than their male counterparts in order to make their presence felt in the industry. They had to prove repeatedly that they shouldn't be taken lightly. “We men don’t have to do it as much; but as a woman, you have to, in this male-dominated industry. It’s a sad thing. People have killed the women in them. This is why they even behave, walk and talk like men,” added Terence.

About Saroj Khan and Farah Khan's careers

Saroj Khan was one of the first leading women choreographers to work in the Hindi film industry. She began her career at the age of three and served as a background dancer in the 1950s. She got her break as a choreographer with Sadhana-starrer Geeta Mera Naam in 1974. She got acclaim through films like Mr India, Chandni, Tezaab, Beta, Thanedaar, Chaalbaaz, Sailaab, Darr, Khalnayak, and Anjaam, mostly working with Madhuri Dixit and late Sridevi.

Farah got her break as a choreographer when she replaced Saroj Khan as the choreographer of Pehla Nasha in Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar (1992). She gained popularity with films like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Dil Se, Mohabbatein, and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, before making her directorial debut with the 2004 blockbuster Main Hoon Na. 

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