“We navigate a man’s world in female bodies, this requires masculine behavior for survival.” Afreen was backstage – drinking a glass of water – as her personal make-up artist tied a bejewelled corset around her waist for her next performance. “ Humain allah ne khoobsurat banaya hae, baal lagaye hain magar hain hum andar se mard hi, is mardon ki dunya mei,” she said.

The star power of dancers such as Afreen alone can sell these shows. The slapstick comedy plays have charged song and dance performances smashed in quarter intervals. Afreen’s dances are part of comedy theatre plays. The business is unsurprisingly patriarchal – producers, writers, directors, audience, almost everyone is male. The CD, stage and film star is a new entrant in Pakistan’s lowbrow Punjabi theatre industry. Masculine behavior is not only allowed but also encouraged by the audience. The chance cleavage, ending performances with thumping of the chest and growling like a lioness make her command the stage. She materialises the fantasies of the male audience, and does everything their wives would not: standing on stage shouting back at hecklers, hurling dirty jokes at unsuspecting audience members, and dancing with traditional machismo to songs laden with sexual innuendos.

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