Karachi’s Kathak Dancers

KARACHI’S KATHAK DANCERS
A Fuuse film production for Al Jazeera English.

Dancer and activist, Sheema Kermani is a controversial and divisive figure for many Pakistanis, a figure who challenges their sense of identity. For some, she stands for gender equality, religious pluralism, freedom of speech, and is a living embodiment of the ancient Indus culture at the root of Pakistani identity. 

At 66 years old, Sheema is one of the last great Bharatnatyam dance masters in Pakistan, an ancient dance tradition with strong links to Hinduism, an art born from Pakistani soil but increasingly shunned by a looming religious and nationalist bigotry. Many young girls are banned by their families or communities from dancing, as classical dancing has become falsely linked to prostitution in the communal imagination.

This documentary short film is set in Karachi; a city that last year was ranked the second most dangerous place in the world for women to live in. Fighting these dangers is Sheema’s life work. We follow Sheema and her troupe of actors and dancers as they perform around the sprawling streets of the megacity, using theatre, song and dance to communicate a message of tolerance and hope, often at great risk. Sheema herself has received death threats and many fellow female activists have been murdered over the years.

FILMED AND DIRECTED BY KARIM SHAH
PRODUCER: ANDREW SMITH
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: DEEYAH KHAN
PRODUCTION COMPANY: FUUSE FILMS