• Hand-painted poster with three women in traditional outfits, one charming a snake, titled 'Show Girls of Pakistan'.
  • Colorful painted poster featuring Pakistani showgirls, dancers, a performer with a snake, and audience silhouettes, highlighting Khajistan's archival art.
  • Two performers on a theater stage in Pakistan with an applauding audience, KHAJISTAN™ archival scene
  • Woman with lip piercing in a salon, pink-themed decor, Khajistan archiving project
  • Woman in traditional attire sitting on a patterned rug, tying ghungroo ankle bells in a room, Khajistan archive
  • Pakistani showgirl in traditional maroon costume performing a flexible dance on red carpet

    Showgirls of Pakistan (2020)

    Coming soon on the Khajistan Portal.

    2020 | Documentary | 106 minutes
    Directed by Saad Khan

    Three mujra dancers navigate censorship, management and violence within Pakistan’s Punjabi theater industry.

    Historical context

    The mujra is a centuries-old dance genre that many in Pakistan now regard as vulgar. The film follows three dancers from Punjab who perform in theatres, at private parties abroad and to fans online, and who face censorship, prejudice and death threats. It premiered at IDFA in 2020. Khajistan screened it with the filmmakers at SculptureCenter on 20 July 2025.

    Sources: IDFA, 2020 premiere; SculptureCenter, anniversary screening.

    Press coverage
    The New York Review of Books  ·  Foreign Policy  ·  Screen Slate  ·  Film Inquiry  ·  Business Doc Europe  ·  Dawn  ·  Mint

    Film details
    Genre: Documentary
    Original language: Urdu and Punjabi with English subtitles
    Director: Saad Khan
    Producers: Saad Khan for SAVTA, Anam Abbas for Other Memory Media
    Writer: Saad Khan
    Art Director: Joey Chriqui
    Release date: January 31, 2021
    Runtime: 1 hour 46 minutes
    IDFA Premiere
    Distributor: Khajistan Releasing

    For institutional acquisitions and licensing: info@khajistan.com.

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