Showgirls of Pakistan

• Showgirls of Pakistan is a documentary film by Lahore-born filmmaker Saad Khan, about the commercial Mujra industry of Pakistan.
• The soundtrack of the film is composed of old melodies of Lollywood films from the 1960s and 1970s.
• The film was premiered in the IDFA Competition 2020. It was selected by VICE for its non-fiction collection The Short List, the film is also available on their YouTube channel.
• Showgirls of Pakistan was released on January 31, 2020, and is now available on the Vice YouTube channel.
• Showgirls of Pakistan is a documentary film by Lahore-born filmmaker Saad Khan, about the commercial Mujra industry of Pakistan.
• The soundtrack of the film is composed of old melodies of Lollywood films from the 1960s and 1970s.
• The film was positively reviewed by Foreign Policy, Dawn, Mint, Business Doc Europe, and Upperstall.
• Mujra is a dance form that emerged during the Mughal empire, practiced by courtesans for the elite classes of Northern India. The documentary explores the prejudice, censorship, and misogynistic climate in which Mujra dancers work in modern-day Punjab, Pakistan.
• Nick Fraser of BBC termed the documentary “Pak porn” during the 17th Annual Hot Docs Forum. The director Saad Khan responded as “Nick saying it’s ‘Pak porn’ and slut shaming the women in the film is the same thing as my Dad going to those shows and then calling them whores”. Guy Lavie, channel manager for Israel’s yesDocu and Brianna Little, development executive with Amazon Studios applauded the film, Brianna called the film “Incredible”. Michael Kronish of Vice Canada called the film “a natural fit” for Vice.
• Showgirls of Pakistan won $10,000 Corus-Hot Docs Forum pitch prize during the 2016 Hot Docs Forum.

Background

Mujra is a dance form that emerged during the Mughal empire, practiced by courtesans for the elite classes of Northern India. The documentary explores the prejudice, censorship, and misogynistic climate in which Mujra dancers work in modern-day Punjab, Pakistan.