When I came across this picture of Raheem Mir on Instagram, I was intrigued. Decked up in a beautiful Anarkali and posing in a graceful adaa, there was something captivating about him.

A dance enthusiast and a professional Kathak dancer, Raheem has studied M.A. in Contemporary Performance and Practice from Royal Holloway, University of London. A Punjabi at heart, Raheem’s love for Bollywood movies like Mughal-e-Azam, and Devdas ignited his passion for Kathak.

There are many male Kathak dancers in our country, but Raheem is like no other. Where most of the male Kathak dancers perform as males, Raheem prefers performing female roles, dressed like one. Raheem is not only encouraging gender fluidity by shattering the rigid boundaries attached to each gender but, he’s also promoting the rich culture of Indian dance forms through his dance.

In a candid skype interview with IWB, Raheem talked about the need for gender flexibility, his grandmother, his inspiration, his love for Madhuri Dixit, and much more.

Me: Which was the first song that ignited your passion for Kathak?

Raheem: Ahhhh!!! When I saw ‘Mohe Panghat pe’ from Mughal-e-Azam, I was like, “This is what I wanna do.”  Also, I absolutely fell in love with the song, ‘Kahe ched mohe,’ of the movie Devdas.

Me: How did you transform emotionally when you started performing Kathak in a female role?

Raheem: The connection I felt by being somebody completely different was enlightening. But, it also came very naturally to me as I have always imagined doing this.

Me: There are very rigid norms for every gender of what they can wear, how can they behave, etc. And, you are challenging them through your art. What is body fluidity for you?

Rahim: We are all different people with different characteristics and everything about each one of us is so beautiful and unique. Also, we all have traits of both men and women in us, but we never acknowledge it as we have always been fed with these gender norms by the society. I feel that the most important reason to encourage body-fluidity is to let people be who they are so they can be comfortable. It’s just about comfort. People shouldn’t take life so seriously and should be free to choose whatever they want to be.

Me: What was your parents’ reaction when they first saw you perform as a female?

Raheem: They have never seen me perform live. But even when they watched it online, they were not shocked and negative about it as they had always known my love for dance. And, they were like okay, he’s doing what he loves. In fact, I was worried about my grandparents’ reactions. My Nana and Nani saw my performance as Umrao Jaan on ‘Dil cheez kya hai’ online, and they just laughed the whole time and didn’t know what to say. And, I was like, whaaattt?  But, I was happy when my Nani said, “At least, you make a convincing woman.”

Hehe!

Me: How do you respond to online trolls?

Raheem: I remember when my first video by Zinc was coming out, I was so anxious, I couldn’t sleep. I was just scared of how would people react to it. There were negative comments also, but it was gratifying to see that for every negative comment from a person, some other person slammed it with a kickass reply. So, yes I have being trolled online, but it doesn’t affect me as I believe in that saying, “Opinions are like …..!”

Yeah, everyone’s got one!

Me: What other gender boundaries have you challenged?

Raheem: *showed me his long nails* A few days back, they were even longer than this. *puppy face*

I have also participated in UK Dance Elite Championships to convey the message of inclusivity. I performed wearing a padded bra, blouse, and a skirt with my beard. I have also performed in a contest while pursuing my M.A., Battle of Bollywood where I depicted a half man and half woman.

Me: Wow! Did you learn make-up from your mother?

Raheem: *laughs* Actually my grandmother! My mother doesn’t put too much make-up. Thank god! But, my grandmom loves makeup and I remember watching her apply it. But, she didn’t teach me how to do it. I learned it on my own.

Me: What other things have you learned from your Mom and Nani?

Raheem: My siblings and I have been raised by our grandmother, Nani. And, I believe my social skills come from her. I am very much influenced by my grandmother, and I guess that’s why I am just brutally honest with my close ones. And, my mother has always taught me to believe in myself and to just do what makes us happy in life.

Me: What kind of response do you get from the female audience?

Raheem: *laughs* A lot of them ask for make-up tips from me. Most of them react positively to me and compliment my work. Of course, there are few of them who do not like it. But, yeah whatever! My Nani says that such girls are just jealous of me.

Isn’t he just too cool and hot at the same time?

Me: Did it ever happen that after your performance, some guy inspired by your work, approached you and said, “This is what I wanna do, too!”

Raheem: I don’t know about inspiring a guy, but, there was a guy who approached me and asked me for my number.

“OMG! What did you do?” I interrupted.

He said to me that you were very beautiful and graceful on the stage. Like an 11-year-old girl I was blushing and didn’t know what to say except thank you. Then he asked me for my number. And, I was like, “Why do you want it? What if you turn out to be a psycho or something?”

“So, did you give your number or not?” I laughed.

I gave him my number, and yet I am sitting here waiting for his call!

Ha-Ha!

Me: What’s your take on love?

Raheem: I know it’s there somewhere. I have been let down so many times, like in the sense of companionship and intimacy; love has come to me in strange forms. But, I see it as a learning curve, and I know it’ll come to me someday. But, till then if someone wants to flirt, I am on!

Yeah sometimes, you gotta kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince. Right?

Me: If you had to depict your story through dance, what would it be like?

Raheem: It would be really colorful, witty, sassy, and sarcastic. On the contrast, it would also depict the struggle and the sadness showing my transformation from what I was to who I am right now. I feel I connect to the courtesans the most because in my real life, I have gone through similar situations and I can empathize completely with them. Also, I believe that I wouldn’t have been the performer I am today if certain people didn’t come in my life, in the past. And, I’ll show that all in the play. And, it would end with me performing sensually as a person who’s at complete peace.

Later, I also fired some rapid questions at him.

Me: Your favorite Kathak mudra?

Raheem: Lotus as it personifies purity and beauty, and is represented in everything we see around.

Me: Most beautiful compliment you received for your dance?

Raheem: There are two compliments I’ll cherish forever. One, a woman came up to me and said that my gestures, my abhinay, and my energy reminded her of Pandit Birju Maharaj ji. Though I can never imagine being as good as him, it was a huge compliment for me. Another compliment came from Luke Jennings, the dance critic. He said that I was gesture-perfect. It felt wonderful!

Me: If given a chance to perform with a Bollywood actress, who would you dance with?

Raheem: I would kill to share a stage with Madhuri Dixit!

Somehow I had already predicted this answer. ‘wink’

Me: I also came across your mehndi inspired paintings on Instagram. Do you love to put mehndi on your hands?

Raheem: Oh, I love mehndi! In fact, for one performance, my friend made mehndi design on my torso. I want to get a mehndi design inspired tattoo, and for my wedding, I would definitely get full bridal mehndi!

Now, that’s another stereotype that he has shattered. Way to go!

Me: One thing you would like to steal from your grandmother’s wardrobe.

Raheem: Jewelry, all of it! Especially, the jadau kadas that she has.

Me: Your backstage ritual before going on the stage.

Raheem: One, the Kathak blessing, two, a personal prayer for myself, and most importantly, I drink lots of water as my mouth gets dry while performing.

P.S. To know more about Raheem Mir, you can visit his Instagram, here.

(This story was first published on December 17, 2016)