There is no greater enemy than an old friend turned foe. A fact well proven by the BITTER WAR raging between Madhuri Dixit and Saroj Khan.... and their consequent DRAMATIC SPLIT!

When we heard of the sudden ousting of Saroj Khan from Gajagamini, M.F. Hussain's dream project, we were SHOCKED! Saroj, after all, was much favoured by Madhuri, besides being her closest confidante. Perhaps because it was Saroj who gave Madhuri's career a much-needed boost, with that sensationally raunchy number, 'Ek do teen...' A phenomenon which catapulted Madhuri overnight, to the big league.

What calamity could possibly have transpired, to have these bosom buddies SPEWING VENOM at each other???

Apparently, the problem began when Saroj refused to choreograph Madhuri's dance item in Bade Miyan Chhote Miyan. This apparently didn't go down too well with Madhuri. But as Saroj reasons,"It was an Amitabh-Govinda song all the way! Madhuri was bound to get lost between the two, and I didn't want to do a song where Madhuri had nothing much to do. So I suggested Chinni Prakash for the song instead!"

It was the Gajagamini fiasco that apparently drove the final nail into this decade old-friendship! It is reported that Saroj upped and left the unit of Gajagamini cooling their heels. A claim she denies vehemently.

"Yes, there is a problem between Madhuri and me and we are never going to work together again!" confirms Saroj."But it is not true that I left the unit of Gajagamini stranded! On the contrary, I went out of my way to accommodate them. They first asked for my dates, which I agreed to give but later, Rikkoo called and said he was unable to get a booking at Mehboob Studio for the said days. So I gave my dates to Mohan Babu, an MP from Hyderabad, instead."

After that, I heard no word from them," she further revealed."Suddenly, five days before I was scheduled to leave, I got a call from Rikkoo. He said he had finally managed to book Mehboob Studio for the required dates. That obviously put me in a fix. Overnight, I couldn't change my plans, when I had committed myself elsewhere. Rikkoo asked me to go over to their office to talk things over, which I did. Madhuri and Hussain were present too, and Madhuri tried to persuade me with, 'You can't do this to me, Sarojji. You have to be there for our shoot'. Though I tried to explain my predicament, she remained adamant. Finally, I called Mohan Babu and asked him if he could adjust his dates. I told him that Madhuri, my best friend, urgently needed the dates he had."

"Fortunately, he agreed to give up my dates from the 1st to the 7th of the month, but he requested me to be there on the eighth day, since he had combination dates from his stars. I choreographed three songs for Gajagamini but for the fourth, since I had to leave the next day, I made Madhuri rehearse the whole song and only then did I leave for Hyderabad. My assistant Jojo, was there to look after things.

"Imagine my surprise when I received a call from Jojo, saying that another choreographer, Nimesh, had been called in to choreograph the song. I WAS STUNNED! Then Jojo called again, to say that he had been asked to choreograph the remaining songs, independently. Though I was really hurt, I told him to go ahead and do his bit!"

Surely she could have discussed the matter with Madhuri. Didn't she confront her in view of their long association?"I have realised that there are no true friends in this industry," she declared sadly."But no one stops existing for anyone. I once had a problem with Sridevi too. Sri had declared that she would give a hit without me, within a year. But failing at that, she gracefully apologised to me later! Similarly, I don't need Madhuri nor does she need me, to be successful! Artists come and go but we technicians remain. Earlier it was Sridevi, then it was Madhuri, and now there is an Aishwarya..."

Whatever their reasons may be, the loss is ours. THE MADHURI-SAROJ TEAM DID CREATE MAGIC AND HOW!