When most of filmdom is raving about positive changes in Indian cinema, choreographer Saroj Khan begs to differ and rues that the quality of dance has gone down in movies.

"I think dance has changed a lot. Nowadays, there are only beats. There is no grace left in dance. We see only acrobatics today. This is successful because we are in the habit of copying the West. We just can't leave it," she said.

"We don't think about our own culture. If we learn from our own culture, it will be very tough. I feel that dance is going down," she added.

She blames item numbers for the downfall.

"Now so many item numbers have come up. Earlier, people used to appreciate Helen. She had grace and elegance. Now everyone is ready to remove their clothes," she said.



She was speaking Friday at the inauguration of Cinema 100, a festival organised by the students of Subhash Ghai's Whistling Woods International to celebrate hundred years of Indain movies.

Saroj Khan, who worked with dancing divas like Sridevi and Madhuri, seems to be impressed with Sonakshi Sinha whom she trained for director Prabhu Deva's film "Rowdy Rathore".

"Sonakshi did everything that I asked her to do and Prabhu Deva approved it. She is very graceful," she said.