Aamir Khan expressed his concern recently about how some hyper-masculine, chauvinistic films are doing well at the box-office and said that it has ‘pushed us back a decade’. The actor also opened up on the deep-rootedness of patriarchy in men and said that these things take time to go away.
In an interview with BBC Asian Network, Aamir was asked of his opinion on films that present a certain chauvinistic image of a man. He replied, “Not nice. It pushes us back a decade. So that's sad. I wish we didn't see that, but that's part of life. The fact is that each one has their own opinion. People have different opinions. A lot of people endorse patriarchy in a strong way, a lot of people endorse patriarchy in a very hidden way. So that's something that we have to deal with”.
He added, “They won't go away overnight. These are deep-rooted concepts. A lot of males are very insecure. We live in a patriarchal society where a lot of men believe that they have the power to decide how much independence should be given to the women around them. And that's not so nice, but I feel that these are things that will gradually change. And stories can really change people's hearts. You can try and convince a person in an argument with logic. But that only goes so far. Emotionally convincing a person through stories and characters touch people's hearts in ways.”
Aamir is currently in the US to promote Laapataa Ladies for the Oscar campaign. The film was earlier selected to be India’s official entry to the Academy Awards.
As an actor, he will be seen next in Sitaare Zameen Par, directed by RS Prasanna which also stars Genelia Deshmukh in a pivotal role.
