Renowned choreographer Saroj Khan once shared a rare and emotional behind-the-scenes episode involving legendary actress Rekha during the filming of the 1990 movie Sheshnaag. In a heartfelt recollection, Saroj Khan spoke about a particularly tense situation that unfolded when Rekha missed rehearsals for a complex dance number and later showed up on the shoot day unwilling to perform, citing illness.
During her appearance on a Podcast, Saroj painted a picture of the pressure they were all under, noting how little time had been allocated for the dance preparation. “The producer gave very less time for us to record the song. We were just getting three days to rehearse the song. My group and I were working day and night to compose the dance of the song. We asked the producer to send Rekha ji for rehearsals because it was a very difficult dance. But she didn’t come. She was either sick or shooting for something else,” she shared.
When the day of the shoot arrived, Rekha finally turned up—but not in costume, only in makeup, and declared that she wouldn’t be performing. “She came on the day of the shooting. She was sitting in his car with no costume just her makeup was done. I went to her car to speak to her and she told me, ‘Cancel the shoot, I am not well.’” Saroj recounted.
Feeling disappointed by Rekha’s apparent disinterest, Saroj decided to confront her directly and candidly. “I told her, ‘Rekha ji, I think you have something allergic against me. You don’t come for rehearsals and on shooting day you say you are sick. You can ask the producer to change the dance master. Tell the producer you don’t want to work with me because there is something wrong here’.”
The intensity of Saroj’s words seemed to strike a chord with Rekha, leading to a visibly emotional moment. “When I looked at her, she had tears in her eyes and I told her, ‘I don’t think I said something wrong but I feel you should shoot today.’ She replied, ‘Mein karungi shooting,’ and she walked away.”
Saroj Khan also recalled that the exchange left a lingering impact on Rekha. Her secretary later approached Saroj to share that the actress had been “crying away” on set following their conversation. What began as confrontation ended in mutual respect, wrapped in the quiet language of emotion.
