I don't support any ban on dance bars - Shakti Kapoor

Remember the famous bar dancer Tarannum, the femme fatale who had actors, politicians and even cricketers reeling under her lusty charms? Well, she is all set to get immortalized in Bollywood through a movie named ‘Mumbai can dance saala’. Newbie Ashima Sharma plays the role of Tarannum in the movie which also stars Shakti Kapoor and actor Prashant Narayanan in major roles. Talking about the movie, Shakti said, “This movie will show the audience that the girls working in bars are mentally very strong. Through this film, one will understand that a bar dancer’s profession is like any other profession. This film will also shatter all wrong notions that people have in their minds about bar dancers being ‘loose character’ girls.” The film will see Shakti Kapoor playing the role of a dress designer who designs costumes for bar dancers. “I have a good role in the movie. I am a dress designer who spots the new girl Ashima and gets her into the bar and finally makes her a superstar,” said Shakti. The flourishing dance bars, once a major source of livelihood for bar girls, were forced to down their shutters after Maharashtra government banned them in 2005. This gave rise to a prolonged legal battle between the bar owners and the government which finally ended in July this year with the Supreme Court lifting the ban. But despite the order, dance bars have not started functioning in the state as bar owners are yet to receive their renewed dance bar permits from the police. We asked Shakti on what he thought about the ban imposed on these bars. “I absolutely don’t agree with any ban on dance bars and bar dancers. The profession of a bar dancer is just like any other profession out there. And from whatever I know about them let me tell you, as a customer you are not allowed to touch them or even get close to them inside the bar without their permission.” Well, it’s good to see an actor speaking his heart out on such a controversial topic.