For Delhi-based Kathak dancer Siddhi Goel, Pakeezah (1972) is more than just a cult film. Meena Kumari’s iconic song, Thaade rahiyo, was choreographed by Pandit Lachhu Maharaj, the grand-uncle of Pandit Jaikishan Maharaj, who trained Goel. In between classes, her guruji, who is the elder son of Pandit Birju Maharaj, would share stories about the choreography. Those snippets stayed with Goel, for whom the film set high standards of music and dance, while defining the aesthetics of Awadhi kotha. In her upcoming online session, titled Hidden Histories of Bombay Cinema, hosted by the India Foundation for the Arts, Goel will revisit and discuss the impact of the 1972 classic on our aesthetics and culture, in a society that has a polarised view of India.

Siddhi Goel, Kathak artiste and academic