Writer and lyricist Javed Akhtar recently spoke about the understanding of ‘modern women’ by audiences and filmmakers. He was present at an event when he questioned the portrayal of a contemporary woman on screen, citing roles played by talented actresses like Madhuri Dixit and the late Sridevi.

Akhtar addressed a session at an event. Indian Express with her daughter and filmmaker, Zoya Akhtar. She highlighted that we are confused about who exactly is a ‘modern woman’, and the same is reflected in our cinema as well. The veteran writer said that the industry gave birth to strong contemporary women of its time by writing roles for actresses like Nargis in ‘Mother India’ and Meena Kumari in ‘Saheb, Biwi Aur Ghulam’, but such writing seems to be missing nowadays.

Akhtar said, “When society is clear about contemporary morals and aspirations, great writing can emerge. The writer is a part of society, who breathes the same air. That is how great roles emerge. Meena Kumari in ‘Saheb, Biwi Aur Ghulam’, Nargis in ‘Mother India’ and Waheeda Rehman in ‘Guide’ are examples of this. However, when the morals are not clear, problems arise.”

He reminisced about the 90s era of cinema and how writing for female characters had hit a new low. Akhtar shared that society still revolves around concepts that define women and the treatment of female characters in cinema is a result of that. “Look at these two girls – Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit. They were no less talented than any so-called heroine of the past. But did they get any big roles? Not because someone was their enemy. But at that time, society was not clear about the contemporary woman,” he said.

The author spoke about Zoya’s work. He said that the female characters in her films match the idea of ​​a ‘modern woman’. Akhtar said, “‘I will remain silent ‘Main Chup Rahungi’ is out there, but who is inside? Nobody knows. Till date we are wandering in the dark trying to find the modern woman. Zoya told me, ‘You will not praise me on stage. I feel embarrassed when you say good things about me.’ But Zoya, the truth is that all the contemporary women I have seen are only in your films.”

In a docu-series called ‘Angry Young Men’ released recently on Prime Video, which showcases the life and work of Javed Akhtar and Salim Khan, the writers talked about the way they wrote their female characters in films. At one point in the series, Akhtar admitted that he didn’t grow up with the sensibility to write strong female characters in his films. However, he said that he, along with Salim, gave a strong twist to the women in their stories, no matter how subconsciously it was done.