‘Men today are also victims of patriarchy’

Actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar feels that men today are also victims of patriarchy as they are taught since childhood to ‘not be weak’.

Farhan was speaking on the podcast Figuring Out With Raj Shamani when the host said that one of his great dialogues is from the 2015 film Dil Dhadakne Do, directed by his sister Zoya Akhtar.

“Tum permission de rahe ho matlabh ke tum apne aap ko ek authority main put kar rahe ho aur woh barabari nahi hai,” the host said, quoting Farhan from the film. In reply, Farhan said, “We are taught that men don’t cry, don’t complain, and just get on with it... Because you have been taught since the time you were a kid that you have to be in control. You are not allowed to be weak. Men today are also victims of that patriarchy…” The host then asked how men struggle to share and ask for help, to which Farhan replied: “Women are easier at doing it. Men in general are closeted.”

Farhan also revealed the greatest learning he got from his lyricist-screenwriter-poet father, Javed Akhtar. “He said don’t be happy with your work too soon. That is the greatest learning,” said Farhan. Asked if self-doubt ever crept into him, Farhan said he has felt like a ‘fraud’ at times. “Those first minutes before I go on stage (to perform... When I am standing at the back. I feel like an imposter. I feel like I am a fraud,” said Farhan. — IANS