Item numbers have been criticized for their gratuitous objectification of women. Item numbers have also been imitated by Mumbai's bar dancers. In respect of the ban on bar dancers in Mumbai, it has even been argued that the morality of bar dancer's imitation of item numbers cannot be questioned without questioning the morality of screening of item numbers in a film in public theatres. It has also been argued that the two are equally amoral as both objectify women for commercial gain, with likely negative effects on the male population.