Anshii Malik danced to Teri Aakhya Ka Yo Kajal at her office Diwali party in a red and white saree. The video has split viewers over what suits a workplace.
An office Diwali celebration in which a woman performed a full dance routine on camera has turned into an argument about what is appropriate at a workplace gathering. The video was posted by Instagram user Anshii Malik, who can be seen taking the floor in a red and white saree.
Her choice of track was Teri Aakhya Ka Yo Kajal, the Haryanvi number by D.C. Madana. Around her, colleagues held up phones to record and clapped along as she went through the routine.
The song carries a specific history. It became closely tied to dancer Sapna Choudhary, whose stage performances drove its popularity. D.C. Madana sang it, Veer Dhaiya wrote the lyrics, and it featured on the album Suit Tera Patla Vol 2.
Since then it has turned up far beyond its original audience, playing at weddings and parties, and in one widely shared instance, at King’s Day celebrations in Amsterdam.
Malik framed her own clip lightly, describing herself in the caption as the pataka of this Diwali.
Not everyone read it that way. A section of viewers objected to the nature of the performance, with one describing it as no way to mark the festival and calling it atrocious. Another objected to the style of dancing itself, saying people reach for what the commenter called cheap Bollywood routines the moment an occasion presents itself.
A third response raised a different concern, suggesting that such performances could expose female colleagues to gossip and unwelcome remarks.
Others pushed back against the criticism. One viewer asked why the video had generated such a strong reaction and said nothing in it struck them as offensive.
What began as a festive clip with a group of colleagues has ended up as a dispute about how offices mark festivals, and about whether a dance at a party deserves the scrutiny it has drawn.