Malaika Arora Khan reproaches the item girl tag
Bollywood bombshell shares her views on the distasteful term, competition from contemporaries and belly dancing.
Malaika suggests that a dance number should be called a ‘special’ song, which meant solely for the purpose of entertainment. PHOTO: FILE
Actor Malaika Arora Khan, who has made us move and groove to her dance numbers, is the undisputed queen of contemporary item songs. With cameo appearances in songs like Chaiyya Chaiyya, Munni Badnam Hui and Anarkali Disco Chali, she has never failed to bring out the dancer in us.
And it’s fitting to know that the B-town bombshell isn’t just a great dancer, she is also disapproving of terms that trivialise women in the industry.
She raises a pertinent thought in an interview, “I don’t like the term ‘item girl’. Why not look at it [item song] as a ‘special’ song – a song that is creating hype and [is meant for the purpose of] entertainment?” she said, according to the Times of India.
Malaika is undeterred by mainstream actors, such as Kareena Kapoor Khan, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra and Katrina Kaif, having jumped on the ‘item number’ bandwagon. “There is enough work for everyone. Everybody has a role or part to play, if somebody fits the bill, that is what matters,” she said. She shares that as of late, nothing interesting has come up in terms of dance numbers.
The actor is back to judge season five of the reality television show India’s Got Talent and shared that this time “it is insane amount of work. In a day, we have 20-25 acts minimum”. Calling some of the acts on the show “breathtaking and death-defying” she stated, “I don’t think there is any show [in India], which provides a platform to showcase varied talent from all over the country.”
Although Malaika has made her mark as a dancer on screen, one form of dance that she has yet to master is belly dance, which she considers to be largely unexplored in Bollywood movies. “I would love to learn popping, locking and robotics, gymnastics and acrobatics — it is amazing to learn these things. I know the basic thing about belly dancing, but not the technicalities. I have been associated with dance since a long time, but yet there is so much more to learn about it,” she said.
Other than belly dancing, the 40-year-old diva would be thrilled to do bike stunts. We’d love to see you get into it in full swing, M!
Published in The Express Tribune, January 10th, 2014.