Mujra magic back to seduce B’Town

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Sitting decked up in a bright pink, bejewelled anarkali-churidaar, Madhuri Dixit prepares herself to charm everyone with her mujra yet again in a song, Apne Karar Mein her upcoming film Dedh Ishqiya. Kangna Ranaut is also getting geared up to show adda and harkat in a song for her film Rajjo.

Right from the days of Meena Kumari in Pakeezah to Rekha in Umrao Jaan and Madhuri in Devdas and Kareena in Agent Vinod, Bollywood has kept revisiting the mujra moves time and again. The dance style of the Lucknawi courtesans has always managed to create a stir among the audience. We find out more about the ever-green dance form. “One of the oldest dance forms, mujras are especially used in Bollywood in period films. They have a certain classic value attached to them. I have loved Rekhaji in Umrao Jaan displaying her best features during her mujra performances. Who can forget those serenading eyes in In Aankhon Ki Masti and Dil Cheez Kya Hain,” smiles Bollywood choreographer Ganesh Acharya. Post Umrao Jaan, there was a long lull in terms of mujra performances in Bollywood broken by Madhuri in Devdas.
“Mujras have always been very pleasing to the eye, right since the early days of Meena Kumari as they are grand and have a certain heritage value associated with them. The nazakat and the harkat required to carry off a mujra needs an expressive face. The eye movements, gestures and postures are just so seductive,” says choreographer Pony Verma. She also says that with Kangna practicing Kathak for quite some time, hopefully she will be able to do justice to the genre in her film Rajjo.
Although the costume for mujras have remained conventional, Kareena’s mujra dress in Agent Vinod came as a breathe of fresh air. “Just like most modern-age modifications, the churidars are replaced with shararas in Dil Mera Muft Ka. Even the embellishments were relatively limited. The mandatory dupatta was nowhere to be seen. Kareena looked a million bucks and managed to carry off the look with élan,” says designer Sunita Shankar. To add to that, even the beats of the song, sound quite different from the languid sarods and upbeat tablas of the original mujras.
Mujra numbers rely heavily on Kathak. Is it a difficult dance form with respect to modern dance forms? “A lot of attention is paid to every small gesture and also on facial expressions. A background in Indian classical helps. But for instance, I am not trained in it and have managed to be a part of a mujra number. It is an interesting dance form, which we do not get to do often,” says Shreya, a background dancer in the Bollywood.