PremiumAamir Khan's apology resurfaces as Sandeep Reddy Vanga defends Animal against Kiran Rao's criticism
Aamir Khan had previously expressed regret for objectifying women in his films on a number of occasions and on different forums.
Last Updated: 01.37 PM, Feb 04, 2024
Ranbir Kapoor starred in Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Animal, which became a huge hit the previous year. It was criticized, meanwhile, for what was seen as misogyny and support for toxic masculinity. In response to criticism directed at Aamir Khan's ex-wife, director Kiran Rao, Sandeep stated in a recent interview that she ought to start by criticizing Aamir's movies.
Vanga pointed to a sequence in the movie Dil where Aamir's character makes violent threats against a woman, yet they ultimately fall in love. In an interview with Dainik Bhaskar, Vanga mentioned Kiran and remarked, “I want to tell that woman that go and ask Aamir Khan about the song ‘Khambe jaisi khadi hai’, what was that? Then come back to me.”
On the other hand, Aamir's apology videos for that specific song and its lyrics have since reappeared on the internet. "Hindi films have not been responsible enough, especially the way we project men and women," the PK actor stated on Aaj Tak. He went on to say that in the movies when something goes wrong, we also show that something good comes out of it, which is incorrect. In movies, women are frequently treated like "items." Songs like "Tu cheez badi hai mast mast" are also included. And even I am involved in this and I have done such films. ‘khambe jaisi khadi hai, ladki hai ya chadi hai.’ We are calling women ‘khamba’ but not humans. I am very ashamed of it,” he said.
Speaking on Koffee with Karan, Aamir highlighted the long-standing mistreatment of women in both real life and in movies. Aamir praised the bravery of women who spoke up, pointed out how patriarchal countries, especially those in India, are, and acknowledged the role that movies, including his own, have played in encouraging such behavior.
He acknowledged that it took him some time to understand the consequences of such behavior and considered his role in raising awareness of the problem. He did so by bringing up the song "Khambe Jaisi Khadi Hai," which he identified as objectifying.
Many societies around the world are patriarchal, he had stated. "India is one of them, and the way we objectify women in our films, I have said it on my show Satyamev Jayate, I have done it. I have sung a song “Khambe Jaisi Khadi Hai”." He also said that objectifying women in every line, is quite literally. Thus, the fact that we have been doing it is terrible.