Saroj Khan’s daughter recalls memories with mother, calls her a ‘fighter’

With veteran dancer and choreographer Saroj Khan’s passing, Bollywood was toppled onto its head. Numerous actors penned heartfelt condolences for the late legend.

Fairly recently, one of Saroj Khan’s daughter’s sat down for an interview, and recalled her mother’s life and detailed all of her past struggles.

During an interview with Pinkvilla Saroj Khan’s youngest daughter hails her mother as a true ‘lenient’ and 'headstrong' hero who became the man of her household ever since she can remember.

"My mother was my hero. She was the greatest influence in my life. She was both a mother and father to me. She was very lenient but at the same time, wanted my etiquette to be perfect. She loved me being around her since I'm the youngest.

"My mum was my fighter. From the age of 13 to 71, she has done everything to fend for us and give us a full life. She has never complained and was the man of the house."

In regards to her mother’s health and what led to her death, Saroj’s daughter said, "On the 20th of June, she started complaining of breathlessness. Being breathless during such times, indicated that maybe she has contracted Covid [COVID-19]. 

"So we took her to the hospital and got her checked. The test came out to be negative but her breathlessness got worse day by day.”

She explained, “They asked us to put her on oxygen for a day or two. It was a normal procedure and we were okay with it. But then, suddenly two to three days ago, she suddenly had a huge spike in her diabetes, which went up to 600-650 on the scale." 

"Last night, we were called when she was sleeping and at 1.52 am today, she had a cardiac arrest. We tried reviving her till 2 o'clock but she didn't respond.”

However, she was never someone who suffered from any serious health issues. "When it comes down to work, she wanted to go back to work. Whether she's got fever, cold; it doesn't make a difference. She never liked making excuses."

"Even if she wasn't shooting, she was teaching the newcomers personally. She was teaching dance to Alizeh Agnihotri, Ananya Panday, Sara Ali Khan and Saiee Manjrekar and was quite happy with it. She was just too happy to be part of their journeys.”

During the course of the interview, Saroj Khan’s dive into single parenthood was also discussed, her daughter claims, "Every woman would agree with me that raising children alone is a very difficult job. And when you have a few other family members depending on you, it becomes all the more difficult."

"She never had a frown on her face. She was always like, 'Main hoon na. Ho jayega (I’m here, it will all be handled)'. She never had a no for any problem and didn't disappoint anyone saying, 'Main nahi kar sakti' (I can’t do it). My mother has always backed us up."