Karan Johar, who has previously included item songs in his films, has vowed that he wouldn’t feature such songs produced under the banner of Dharma Productions. According to Johar, songs like “Chikni Chameli” objectify women and he doesn’t promote that.
Recently, in an interview with Film Companion, Karan said, “I have no problem with like a girl dancing, that’s not an item number. An item song is when she is objectified and when there are men lusting for her like ‘Chikni Chameli’. I don’t think I would ever do that again. It’s never gonna happen in a Dharma Productions film and I will make sure of it.”
The song he was referring to was included in the film Ageenpath.
Following Johar’s statement, Katrina Kaif, who performed on the song in the film, reacted strongly.
Speaking to DNA, the actress said, “I feel it’s all down to the individual who is performing the song. Madonna, who I’m sure we all know, I don’t think she is feeling objectified. I don’t think Beyonce who performs in a swimsuit on stage is feeling objectified. It’s all about how you feel while you are performing that song. I can tell you, I never felt objectified in ‘Chikni Chameli’. I enjoyed that song. I enjoyed the dance, I enjoyed what I was doing. I didn’t even for a moment felt objectified or brought any kind of wrong eyes on me. Not at all.”
“There are many times when people ask me for songs and there’s no context to it. I won’t do it, no matter how much I feel about dance. We don’t need to characterize it that every song that a woman is celebrating herself and performing, that’s not objectifying women. It all depends on the angle and lens it’s being seen,” Katrina added.
On the film front, Katrina Kaif will soon be seen in film Zero starring Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma.