Pandit Birju Maharaj was an exponent of the Lucknow Kalka-Bindadin Gharana of Kathak dance in India who not just choreographed songs in Bollywood films but also lent his vocals for some of the songs. He started learning Kathak at the age of thirteen and went on to receive several national and international awards and accolades, worldwide including the Filmfare Best Choreography trophy for Bajirao Mastani in 2016. He also won the National Film Award for Best Choreography for Kamal Haasan’s Vishwaroopam in 2012. Some of the films in which he donned the hat of a choreographer were Shatranj Ke Khilari, Devdas, Dedh Ishqiya, Bajirao Mastani, and Jaanisaar. He breathed his last in Delhi in the early hours of 17 January 2022 after suffering a heart attack.