Maya Ali has joined the list of actors speaking up about item songs in films.
Our industry has released numerous item songs in the past. However, audiences are yet to make peace with these entertaining dance numbers, simply by virtue of the claims that they oppose our culture – which, honestly, is a debate in itself.
In the past, both Osman Khalid Butt and Hareem Farooq have spoken up about item numbers, as has Billi and Gangster Guriya starrer, Mehwish Hayat.
Now, Maya Ali has joined the list of actors speaking up about item songs in films, and she’s got a fair point.
The star of the upcoming film, Parey Hut Love, spoke to Waseem Badami, sharing her surprisingly refreshing thoughts on the matter.
Maya defended item songs, saying that when people spend money, they do so to be entertained.
Moreover, she stated that songs are a source of entertainment, regardless of what you name it. Whether you refer to it as an item number, dance number or shaadi song, it’s just that – a song.
Maya even stated that there are many older songs that make you want to dance along when you hear them.
She capped off her argument stating that it all boils down to entertainment.
Here’s the video:
An interesting thing that Osman Khalid Butt stated about item songs at the Zab Media Festival in April, at SZABIST, is that the way they’re shot is extremely important. If the camera objectifies the people in the song, then it can be problematic.
On a personal level, I feel like we’re very biased against an entire gender when it comes to item songs. Yes, women in the industry do perform these dance numbers and that’s fine – like Maya said, it’s entertainment. If it bothers you, there are ways to avoid it. However, we also tend to turn a blind eye towards the men who perform item numbers, and they don’t receive half the backlash women do. They can flash their “six-pack abs” (I’m just hoping you guys get the reference) and no one bats an eye.
I’m not saying any backlash is essential – it’s not. We could all be more accepting. It just seems like our quota of acceptance is reserved for men, and women in the industry become easy targets to pick on when they perform such dance numbers.
It’s a dialogue that needs to be initiated, but that can only happen if both sides are willing to listen. What do you think about this? Let us know in the comments.
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Osman Khalid Butt Tried To Defend Mehwish Hayat After She Was Slut-Shamed
Hareem Farooq Defending Mehwish Hayat Highlights The Importance Of Women Building Each Other Up
Cover image via @bilalsaeedphotography/Instagram