New Delhi:

Choreographer Saroj Khan died of a cardiac arrest in a Mumbai hospital on Friday; she was 71. Ms Khan was taken to Guru Nanak Hospital on June 20 after complaining of breathing trouble. A test for COVID-19 gave a negative result. “She passed away due to cardiac arrest at around 2.30 am at the hospital,” Saroj Khan’s nephew Manish Jagwani told news agency PTI. Just days ago, family sources said Ms Khan was better and would be discharged soon. The funeral will be held today, as per news agency ANI.

Tributes to Saroj Khan were shared by the film fraternity after her death. “She made dance look easy,” tweeted Akshay Kumar.

Woke up to the sad news that legendary choreographer #SarojKhan ji is no more. She made dance look easy almost like anybody can dance, a huge loss for the industry. May her soul rest in peace

— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) July 3, 2020

Last week, it seemed that Saroj Khan would be home soon from hospital. “She is fine now and recovering. She had breathing issues and was taken to hospital for that. Her COVID-19 test was done which turned out negative. She doesn’t have any symptoms. She is likely to be discharged in a day or two,” a family source told PTI. Filmmakers Anubhav Sinha and Kunal Kohli also shared tweets with updates on Ms Khan’s health after speaking to the family.

After Saroj Khan’s death, Kunal Kohli tweeted about the woman he called “Masterji.”

#SarojKhan my beloved Masterji. #RIPSarojKhan From Music Videos to films we had a long journey together. Now you’ve left me & gone. I will do & make what we spoke about one day, my promise to you.

— kunal kohli (@kunalkohli) July 3, 2020

Saroj Khan, winner of three National Awards, choreographed some of Bollywood’s most iconic dance hits – many of these starred actresses Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit. Ms Khan’s earliest routines were for Sridevi in films like Mr India, Nagina and Chandni; she choreographed the quirky moves in Hawa Hawai. Later, she worked with Madhuri Dixit on Tezaab’s Ek Do Teen, Thaanedaar’s Tamma Tamma Loge, Beta’s Dha Dhak Karne Laga and others numbers.

Saroj Khan won National Awards for choreographing Dola Re Dola from Devdas featuring Madhuri and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, all the songs of Tamil film Sringaram, and Yeh Ishq Haaye from Kareena Kapoor’s Jab We Met. She also won Filmfare Awards for Tezaab, Sailaab, Beta, Chaalbaaz, Khalnayak, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Devdas and Guru.

Saroj Khan is survived by her husband Sohanlal, son Raju, and daughters Hina and Sukanya.