27 August,2026 12:51 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
The Maharashtra State Stage Performance Censorship Board has made suitability certificates mandatory for public Lavani and DJ Lavani performances. File pic
The Maharashtra State Stage Performance Censorship Board has directed police to ensure that public performances of Lavani and other folk entertainment forms, including the increasingly popular "DJ Lavani" shows, are held only after organisers produce a suitability certificate from the board.
The directive comes amid complaints that programmes featuring popular female dancers are being presented as traditional Lavani performances despite incorporating film songs, DJ music and allegedly obscene dance routines.
In a circular dated August 14 and addressed to the Director General of Police, police commissioners and superintendents of police, the board said certificates issued for traditional Lavani shows were allegedly being misused to organise programmes containing objectionable content without obtaining the necessary suitability certificate.
The board has instructed police to allow public entertainment programmes only after verifying that organisers have obtained the required certificate.
The directive covers plays, one-act plays, folk dramas, tamasha, Lavani, folk music, "vag" and fairs, among other programmes.
It also clarified that obtaining a suitability certificate would not protect organisers from action if performers go beyond the approved content.
If vulgar or objectionable material is found beyond the certified scripts, announcements or summaries, police can initiate action against those responsible.
Babasaheb Patil, president of the ruling Nationalist Congress Party's film and cultural department, had earlier sought action against what he described as vulgar DJ Lavani and objectionable programmes being organised in the name of the traditional art form.
Patil welcomed the censorship board's decision, saying it would help prevent the misuse of Lavani.
Over the past four to five years, live dance programmes featuring popular female performers have increasingly become common at village festivals, Dahi Handi celebrations, fairs and even election campaigns across rural Maharashtra.
Although organisers often promote these programmes as Lavani, they frequently feature groups of female dancers performing to Hindi and Marathi film songs accompanied by loud DJ music.
The programmes attract large crowds, particularly young men, but have also faced criticism over the presentation of dancers and the nature of some performances.
The issue gained attention recently after allegations that female dancers performed obscene dances during a Nagpanchami procession in Battis Shirala in Sangli district.
In 2023, then Leader of Opposition and NCP leader Ajit Pawar had also urged party workers not to organise such dance programmes.
(With inputs from PTI)
