Saroj Khan makes women look graceful: Madhuri Dixit

Mumbai: Madhuri Dixit Nene, who has joined creative forces with veteran choreographer Saroj Khan for a dance number "Tabha ho gaye" in "Kalank", says the dance director knows how to make women look graceful on-screen.

In the past, the two artistes have worked on memorable songs like "Ek do teen", "Choli ke peeche", "Dhak dhak karne laga" and "Maar daala".

"Sarojji is one of the choreographers I have collaborated with who goes beyond the surface of lyrics of a song when she choreographs. In cinema, we tend to create steps keeping the camera angle in mind. But Sarojji doesn't limit the dance in physical movements.

"She finds a spiritual aspect and works on expressions. She knows how to make a woman look graceful and beautiful through a dance," Madhuri told IANS here during an interview.

"Perhaps that is why every song we did together, holds a recall value even today. If the youngsters are still dancing to those numbers, I think we did something right," she smiled.

The song "Tabah ho gaye", a solo dance number picturised on Madhuri, will release on Tuesday. It is choreographed by Saroj Khan and Remo D'Souza.

"The song comes at a very poignant time in the narration when the back stories of each character are unfolding. The song is a quite defining moment in the story," the actress said.

Since Madhuri is a trained Kathak dancer, from the beginning of her career she has also cemented her space as a skilled dancer.

With the changing times, is the appreciation of classical dance in Indian cinema fading away?

"No, I do not agree with that at all. The audience is always intelligent. It is a wrong notion that youngsters only like hip-hop and western dance. After a long time, we have seen a dance like 'Ghar more' (from 'Kalank') and the audience has really loved the dance. It is a classical dance form that we have presented to the audience and they have enjoyed it.

"It only shows that if the dance is well-choreographed, no matter which form (of dance) it is, people will like it... people of all generations. I think that is the power of good dancing. I am quite confident about 'Tabah...' also, because again it is a very emotional, poised, nicely choreographed song," she said.

Directed by Abhishek Verman, "Kalank" also features Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Sanjay Dutt and Sonakshi Sinha. It is releasing on April 17.