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Madhuri Dixit and Sridevi were not offered ‘one big role,’ admits Javed Akhtar; blames society for THIS reason
Javed Akhtar recently talked about the portrayal of women in cinema. He went on to point out how, despite being talented, Madhuri Dixit and Sridevi didn’t get one big role in the films.
Javed Akhtar is a cynosure to reckon with, courtesy of his illustrious contribution to Bollywood. He is also known for being very blunt and vocal while speaking his heart out. Recently, during a recent conversation, the lyricist-screenwriter pointed out how, despite being talented, Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit didn’t get ‘one big role.’
Legendary lyricist Javed Akhtar and his daughter Zoya Akhtar expressed their opinion on cinema and storytelling. In a recent interaction with The Indian Express, the veteran lyricist-screenwriter addressed the portrayal of female characters and contemporary society's understanding of women. He noted that Javed great writing can emerge if society is clear about contemporary morality and aspirations.
“The writer is a part of society, breathing the same air. This is how great roles come about,” he said. Akhtar explained his point by citing examples of Meena Kumari in Saheb, Biwi Aur Ghulam, Nargis in Mother India, and Waheeda Rehman in Guide. According to him, the issue arises when the morality is not clear.
“Look at these two girls - Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit. They were not less talented than any so-called heroine of the past. But did they get one big role? Not because anybody was their enemy. But at that point, society was not clear about the contemporary woman. 'Main chup rahungi (I’ll stay quiet)' is out, but who is in? Nobody knows," he further added.
The veteran-lyricist further pointed out that we’re still trying to find a modern woman while roaming in the dark. A proud father revealed that his daughter Zoya Akhtar who was sitting next to him had requested him to not praise her. She stated that the Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara director finds it ‘embarrassing’ when her father praises her.
Nevertheless, Akhtar expressed his stern belief, stating that it is only in Zoya’s movies he has got the opportunity to see a ‘contemporary woman’. He mentioned that it is still not clear how much the contemporary hero is close to his peers and his family. The legendary writer asserted that writers live in such a society where there are no great characters and no great stars either.
Notably, last month while speaking at We Are Yuvaa’s show Be A Man, Yaar, Javed extensively discussed the portrayal of modern Indian women in Cinema. He asserted his belief, stating that one tends to "exaggerate" when they "pretend" what they’re not. To explain his point, he shared an example of Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif, and Anushka Sharma starrer Jab Tak Hai Jaan.
The veteran lyricist and screenplay writer pointed out the dialogue in the film by one of the heroines, "Mein duniya mein jitni nationalities hain, har nationality ke ek admi ke ladke ke saath sone ke baad shaadi karungi!" He questioned why she would work hard enough to prove that. He further asked if she is not "empowered", "modern", "cool" and "forward-thinking".
The 79-year-old mentioned that we could agree with her. She doesn’t have to work hard enough for that. There are a lot of nationalities in the world, and one doesn’t have to get into that. He questioned the implications of this dialogue from Yash Chopra starrer. According to him, they wanted to fake that this was an empowered girl. They are not very clear about its concept, so it was overstated.
Recently a docu-drama series, Angry Young Men based on the legendary iconic writer duo Salim-Javed was released celebrating their legacy. It is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
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