Bollywood Celebs Kareena Kapoor, Hema Malini And Subhash Ghai Mourn The Death Of Pt. Birju Maharaj

Ghai remembered how he "expressed a romantic conversation" between Lord Krishna and Radha with his eyes doing the talking.

New Delhi: Popular Bollywood personalities like Kareena Kapoor Khan and Hema Malini also took to their social media accounts to mourn the death of legendary kathak dancer Pandit Birju Maharaj. Panditji's sudden demise on January 17 has left the nation grieving over the loss of one of its legends. The 83 year-old kathak maestro departed to the other world after suffering a cardiac arrest on late Sunday night.

Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor took to her Instagram to mourn the loss of one of the greatest Kathak legends. Sharing a picture of Panditji, she wrote."Rest In Peace."

Veteran actress Hema Malini also took to her Instagram account to express her grief over Panditji's sudden demise. The 'Dream Girl' wrote,"The nation mourns te loss of a true legends, Shri Birju Maharaj, Kathak exponent par excellence. His ghungroos were on his ankles till he breathed his last. I always admired and respected him as a giant of the medium of Kathak and will miss his presence on the firmament of dance."

Veteran filmmaker Subhash Ghai tweeted his personal tribute to Pandit Birju Maharaj. Remembering the days when he was organising a college festival where Maharaj ji was performing, Ghai remembered how he "expressed a romantic conversation" between Lord Krishna and Radha with his eyes doing the talking.

"I learnt 'DANCE' means the body but the soul is in the eyes. That's why he was a Jagat Guru in Kathak," tweeted Ghai, who's back in the news for making his debut as music composer for the upcoming film '36 Farmhouse'.

Among the cultural personalities who mourned the passing away of Maharaj ji was the sarod maestro, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan Saheb, who tweeted that it marked the end of an era for Indian dance and Kathak.

"For me it's been a personal loss," Khan Saheb wrote. "He was loved immensely by my family and his memories live in our hearts forever. The heavens will dance for him today and everyday!"

Along with his tweet, he carried a rare picture of a young Birju Maharaj playing the tabla to his sarod. Besides being a renowned dancer, Maharaj ji was a talented percussionist and was also well-known for being a Hindustani classical vocalist.

Maharaj ji, in fact, composed the music and sang for the two period dance pieces in Satyajit Ray's historical drama 'Shatranj Ke Khiladi', starring Sanjeev Kumar, Saeed Jaffery and Amjad Ali Khan.

Maharaj ji was closely associated with the world of cinema. He choreographed the 'Kaahe Chhed Mohe' track picturised on Madhur Dixit in the 2002 version of the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer 'Devdas'.

And he won the National Award for choreographing 'Unnai Kaanadhu Naan' in the Kamal Haasan multi-lingual megahit 'Vishwaroopam' and the Filmfare Awards for the Bajirao Mastani number 'Mohe Rang Do Laal'.

With inputs from IANS.