Bollywood star Rani Mukherjee says that 'nautanki', the traditional Indian form of drama and dance, needs to respected as its current usage is misrepresenting.

"Nautanki needs to be treated with a lot more respect," says Rani.

The actress regrets that the dance form has been grossly misrepresented and the word 'nautanki' is used loosely to refer over the top behaviour.

Rani, who made her debut on small screen as a reality show judge with Sony TV's 'Dance Premier League', believes that the loud dress and mannerism of the 'nautanki' dance troupes, add to the beauty of the dance form.

'Nautanki', consisting of folklore and mythological dramas with interludes of folk songs and dances, is popular mainly in the northern states of India.