Lachhu Maharaj Biography 
Lachhu Maharaj was a Kathak exponent of Lucknow Gharana who has choreographed many Bollywood song sequences. Pandit Birju Maharaj is his nephew. He is known for the noted choreography of songs of classic movies, Mahal (1949), Mughal-e-Azam (1960), Ek Nazar (1972) and Pakeezah (1972). He was awarded the 1957 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the highest award for performing artists by Sangeet Natak Akademi. He died in the year 1978. Prestigious Lachhu Maharaj award has been named after him and given to celebrated artists in the field of dance. Most recently the award has been received by Bollywood queens, Madhuri Dixit (2013) and Jaya Bachchan (2012). Birju Maharaja and Sitara Devi are among those who have received this award earlier.
He was born in the year 1907 in a family of Kathak dancers of Lucknow Gharana. He was married to Rama Devi. He received formal training in Kathak from Pandit Bindadin Maharaj, his uncle and the court dancer of the Nawab of Awadh. He trained in Kathak for more than 10 years. He also learnt Hindustani Classical vocal music, Tabla and Pakhawaj. Later he moved to Mumbai and played a significant role in popularizing Kathak among audience. His association with Bollywood paved way to bring Kathak to a far wider audience.
Apart from films, Goutam Buddha, Chandravali and Bharatiya Kissan are his famous ballets. He started Kathak Kendra in Lucknow and was its director. Guru Bandana Sen is one of his noted disciples. Guru Munna Shukla, his grandnephew has also choreographed songs for numerous Hindi films. In Pakeezah, Lachhu Maharaj provided the choreography for only one song, “Thade rahiyo”, and the rest was done by Gauri Shankar. Meena Kumari was his regular student for many years when he stayed at Mumbai. Nargis, Kumkum and Waheeda Rahman had also learnt from him.
Published: N/A
Updated: January 23, 2014
