Big boys do cry!

Sheetal

Be A Man Yaar is perhaps India’s first show on positive masculinity, which has made rippling change after initiating conversations with men we look up to. The recent, Season 2 opened with Kartik Aaryan’s journey from being an outsider to giving hits, shifted to internet sensation Bhuvan Bam’s heartfelt conversation about being teetotaller and loss of his parents, and then words of wisdom from none other than Javed Akhtar. There are many episodes yet to come, but one wonders how difficult it is to get these famous men to talk, sometimes cry too. Nikhil Taneja, the man behind this ‘manly’ show, available on YouTube, left out no detail while discussing about it and the target audience.

This show is about two men getting vulnerable for an hour. This is because audiences’ favourite episodes turn out be those courageous moments when men are ready to bare it all.” — Nikhil Taneja

For the first season that aired last year, entrepreneur and co-founder of Yuvaa, Nikhil had hosted guests whom he knew from the entertainment industry. He shared, “I knew them personally through years of association, which automatically imparted the confidence to interact. But with this season, there were people I never had a conversation with in my real life. Also, we have gone a level up on inclusivity, as we included a sportsperson, influencer, designer, singer as well as an educator. For instance, one of our guests, Boman Irani, is an extremely funny and charming man. For a long time we were talking about a lot of things except what we should have been talking about. We never really know whether it will result into a good conversation once we are on the couch, but my job is to be a good listener and speak to communicate, not react. If you go with an agenda, it would fail you.”

Nikhil never has a script in mind. “But I went prepared. Like, I had read biographies of Naseer sahib and Javed Akhtar, and for Boman Irani’s episode, I had a talk with his son beforehand to know more about him,” he said.
Recollecting his best conversations of this year, he hesitated to take one name as every episode had something to offer. But upon much insisting, he revealed how Bhuvan Bam’s conversation was most raw and authentic, as he had never expected that the creator-actor would be comfortable sharing most heart-breaking days from his life.

If many have reaped the benefits of their name or connections when making talk shows and podcasts, Nikhil’s perspective is fresh and introspective. “Rather, I count is an advantage to be an outsider. I have been brought up outside the industry, watching movies and following actors, but I have also worked with actors, directors and producers. I am grateful to everyone whom I met in the industry; they never made me feel like an outsider and only helped me move forward. Being an outsider gave me a bird’s eye view of things. It reflects in things like how I was quick to notice Vicky Kaushal becoming an ‘item number’ in Tauba Tauba, unlike female-led item numbers that cater only to male gaze.”

About his dream to host Shah Rukh Khan, Nikhil said, “It would be a dream-come-true moment once I have him on my show. But I never wanted it so soon in my hosting career. I would eventually want to reach that level when I have the courage to invite him.”
Often when talking of feminism or positive masculinity, there have been counter words like hyper-feminism and alpha-masculinity thrown at people who initiate these conversations. Nikhil shared, “With this show or any other work we do through Yuvaa, our own platform on YouTube, we would like to create space for everybody to talk more freely, not to sensationalise but to sensitise on the issues that cry for attention. When we talk of positive masculinity, it also helps feminism and gender equality. Anything hyper or alpha is against what we are fighting for.”
About female guests on the show, Nikhil shared, “We had brought in Srishti Garg in the previous season for the last episode, but it did not find much viewers. I would now refrain from doing it for the sake of it. It would only happen organically and with female guests who we think our audience would be interested in. Also because the show has become such a success, I would want to include a big name that people would look up to.”

Dream come true
Be A Man Yaar earned global recognition as season two’s trailer was featured on Billboard at the iconic Times Square, New York, on July 19. The host and co-founder of Yuvaa, a youth media and impact organisation, Nikhil Taneja captioned the post as, ‘Sometimes dreams come true. And sometimes, dreams you don’t even have the audacity of dreaming come true.’

In a word…
Javed Akhtar: Legendary
Imran Khan: Personal
Bhuvan Bam: Courageous
Boman Irani and Gajraj Rao: Laugh riot
Rohan Bopanna: Unexpectedly authentic
Manish Malhotra: Iconic
Dr Vikas Divyakirti: Rational and intelligent
Ankush Bahuguna and Viraj Ghelani: Entertaining
Prateek Kuhad: Soft boy
Kartik Aaryan: One-of-a-kind
Aryan Pasha: Emotional