MUMBAI: "Raag", a film close to the heart of late Bollywood choreographer Saroj Khan, is all set to hit theatres on March 26.

"During the pandemic, we lost Saroj ji. She was the backbone of our project. Right from helping us in finalising the story to choreographing to suggesting an item number for the film to casting one of her favourite students -- Heena Panchal -- for the same, Saroj ji helped us a lot. Despite all our earnest efforts the film could not be released while she was around. We are now releasing it on 26th March 2021, and it is our tribute to the noble soul," producer Piyush Mundhada said.

"It is also the first work of the late choreographer to release in theatres posthumously. Had she been there, she would have been very proud of the same," he added.

Renowned choreographer Saroj Khan passed away in July last year.

"Raag" is based on the Bedia community, which engages in singing and dancing as Rai folk artistes. The community resides mostly in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The film narrates the journey of Madhu, a girl from the community who rebels to bring about a change through education.

The film directed by Arvind Tripathi features Rajpal Yadav, Rakesh Bedi, Sudha Chandran, Mohan Joshi, Yashpal Sharma, Milind Gunaji and Manisha Marzara among others.