When we don’t see the real aspects of tawaif culture, it leads to an incorrect representation of those women. Manjari Chaturvedi, Indian Kathak Dancer It’s been more than 20 days since Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi was released. This Netflix original series of eight episodes has been the talk of the town, not just about the extravagant costumes or grand settings but also about its inaccuracies and factual errors around the tawaif culture and representation.
For the last 15 years, Manjari Chaturvedi, an Indian Kathak dancer from Lucknow gharana has been working on the stories of tawaifs , about their dance, music, and performance art, under her project called The Courtesan Project . View this post on Instagram A post shared by Manjari Chaturvedi (@thecourtesan) ADVERTISEMENT REMOVE AD " Heeramandi depicts the tawaif culture as women fighting for power or against each other, rather than showcasing the culture where women share and discuss ragas, ghazals, or poetry. Addressing these misinterpretations in the series, Manjari stated, “ Heeramandi reduced tawaif culture to mere titillation.
You can't transpose Lucknow or Awadh traditions onto Lahore and expect authenticity. While there are inaccuracies, one may justify them as artistic license, but the issue arises when it's presented as historical truth." Regarding the responsibility to accurately portray history, Manjari explained, "Twenty-five or thirty years from now, if someone conducts research on tawaifs , they .
