Padma Vibhushan awardee Pandit Birju Maharaj was not just a brilliant dancer and choreographer but also equally good at playing violin and sarod. Birju, who belonged to Bindadin Gharana, died on January 17 this year after a heart attack.
Born on February 4, 1937, Pandit Ji would have turned 85 today. While Birju Maharaj worked with several female actors, he was the biggest fan of Madhuri Dixit. He choreographed Madhuri’s songs in the film Dil Toh Pagal Hai. Praising the actor, he had said that she was a natural talent. Madhur, too, is a huge fan of Pandit Ji.
Pandit Birju was Acchan Maharaj’s son and Shambhu Maharaj’s nephew. He once shared a very interesting story about his name. In an interview, he said that he was born in a hospital in Lucknow and except him, all other babies born that day were girls. Since he was the Brijmohan between all Gopies, he was called Birju. He learnt music under the tutelage of Hafiz Ali Khan and Mushtak Ali Khan and started performing on stage at an early age.
When Birju earned Rs 501 at the age of 6 his parents’ happiness was unexplainable. He started learning music and dance from his father. Unfortunately, when Birju turned 9, his father died. Birju Maharaj said that he did not want to work in films. However, Hindi cinema’s well-known filmmaker Satyajit Ray made an offer for the film Shatranj Ke Khiladi.
Pandit Ji choreographed two classical songs for the film and there was no looking back after that.
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