Javed Akhtar delved into the evolving concept of the modern woman in Hindi cinema in a recent interview. Reflecting on the historical depiction of women as submissive and quiet, Akhtar acknowledged the industry’s shift towards questioning these stereotypes. Despite this evolution, Akhtar expressed the ongoing struggle to define the modern woman. The screenwriter took examples of iconic actors Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit and how they never got big roles in their careers. He also bashed Yash Chopra’s film, Jab Tak Hai Jaan, for its ‘ridiculous’ idea of an empowered woman.
Speaking about it on ABP Majha, Akhtar said, “Who is the new woman? We are not clear about it. There are two reasons for it. Those who are liberal, if they define this as a modern woman, other liberals will question them. Those who are conservative, if they define it, they feel that they will lose a lot of their territory. So, they don’t want to do it. There were so many talented women -Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit – they weren’t any less talented than any of the actors, but they didn’t get a big role in their whole career. For instance, they didn’t get roles like Mother India, Bandini and Sujata. It is because people don’t know what is an ideal woman.”
Taking example of Jab Tak Ha Jaan, Akhtar explained, “Now, different types of experiments are happening. When today’s filmmakers try to make an image of an empowered woman, they get ridiculous because they don’t know what is an empowered woman. A director like Yash Chopra, who made decent, maybe not great but competent films throughout his career, his film Jab Tak Hai Jaan shows the heroine saying, ‘I will sleep with men of all nationalities before getting married.’ To be empowered you don’t have to put in so much work. So, this is because its a debris and they are finding who is the modern woman in this.”
Jab Tak Hai Jaan was Yash Chopra’s last film before his death in October 2012. It starred Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma in lead roles.
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