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Just us or should Jacqueline Fernandes' redo of Madhuri Dixit's 'Ek Do Teen' for Baaghi 2 be making more people uncomfortable?

Madhuri Dixit's 'Ek Do Teen' is one of the most iconic Bollywood tracks and nearly everyone can hum along to at least its chorus. It featured in the 1988 film Tezaab, in which Madhuri plays a young woman forced to dance for money by her drunkard father (Anupam Kher). In the context of the story, it makes sense for the film to features scenes of Madhuri's scantily clad character entertaining a huge crowd of men because she's a central character and that's her job.

Is the same true for Baaghi 2, though? The film features a redo of 'Ek Do Teen' featuring Jacqueline Fernandes and we don't know at this point how the song ties in with the film's story. The sequel sees Tiger Shroff reprising his role as a martial arts expert-for-hire while Disha Patani plays his ex-lover who needs his help in rescuing her kidnapped daughter. Jacqueline isn't listed in the film's cast, so it's safe to assume that she is making a special appearance just for the song. In the song's teaser (below), we see Jacqueline strip off her jacket to reveal a skimpy costume inside before she busts some hip-shaking moves. We can't help but wonder if her objectification will be contextually justified like above.

For her part, Jacqueline has been enthusiastically promoting 'Ek Do Teen', referring to her performance as a "tribute" to Madhuri Dixit, adding that "her performance in the original is unmatchable. Forget me, no one can ever come close to her."

Also read: Dance numbers don't necessarily objectify women, says Urwa Hocane

There's no doubt Madhuri deserves a tribute (or four), but we wonder how fitting this one is. We sincerely hope that 'Ek Do Teen' hasn't been placed in the movie as a sexy, one-off item number for a) the hype 'Ek Do Teen' will bring and b) some good ol' fashioned titillation. In this day and age, Bollywood should know better than to grossly exploit women to sell their movies. Several veteran members of the industry have been calling out filmmakers for this very trend.

The teaser of Jacqueline's song is making us slightly uncomfortable, but we'll reserve our judgement till the film is released.