Is Calling Dance 'Mujra' Offensive? - Blog 17

Opening your instagram, seeing a woman happily dance to a song, the next moment you open the comments and see men calling her names and saying "ye online aake mujra karna bandh karo" (stop doing this Mujra online). This is common right? 

Whenever I see comments like thesee on videos of fellow dancers, being a dancer myself I cannot help but pause. Because the word "Mujra" carries weight. It carries misunderstanding. Using it as an insult to describe someone dancing freely is not just lazy, it shows how much the society still misunderstands dance and still fail to respect the art form. 

Mujra has a long and complex history, a homework which most people do not do, before commenting hatred on the content of dancers online. Originally, the word Mujra, was never a bad one. It was a respected art form. Back during the Mughal times, dancers, often courtesans called them Tawaif performed Mujra as a blend of classical dance, predominantly Kathak on ghazals, thumris and poetic verses. Their performances were a part of sophisticated mehfils; cultural assemblies where music, poetry, dance and conversations were celebrated. 

In that era, Mujra performers were never dismissed as mere entertainers, rather, they were considered as cultural connoisseurs. They were the ones who preserved the art of Kathak. In that context, Mujra meant respect and in literal terms, to actually, 'bow down'. The word itself, in Marathi, Hindi or in Urdu never meant anything vulgar. 

But somewhere along the way, with times changing, colonisation, commercialisation and the influence of films, the narrative completely flipped. Mujra performers started to be portrayed as sex workers, some shows started morphing into entertainment prioritising titillation over artistry. Over decades, this shift has shaped public perception in all the wrong ways possible. What was once a refined cultural expression gradually got mixed up with vulgarity and moral judgement. 

So now, when it is almost 2026, whenever we scroll through dance content on Instagram, we do carry a historical baggage, often unconsciously. So when a woman dances for fun, or even as art on camera and someone comments "it looks like Mujra", what they are really saying is; "You are too free and visible, crossing the line." They erase the possibility of innocence, of the skill and the joy. 

Calling every expressive dance “mujra” as an insult does a disservice to dancers everywhere. It ignores the possibility that dance can be free, joyful, artistic, not always dirty or provocative. It denies the agency of women who choose to move, express, create. It treats dance like a crime rather than a craft or emotion.

If we really respect art, we need to rethink how we use words. We need to remember that Mujra, at its core, was about artistry, respect and musicality. We need to stop dragging it into stereotypes just because we want to shame someone’s expression.

Shreya Roy Choudhury