Bollywood actor Arunoday Singh has spoken out against the prevalence of hyper-masculinity in Hindi films, praising the upcoming movie Maa Behen for its unique approach to tackling serious social issues through comedy.
In an exclusive interview, Singh, who plays the role of a soft-spoken cop in the film, expressed his admiration for the movie's writer Pooja Tolani and director Suresh Triveni for delivering a film that gets its messaging right while also excelling as entertainment.
'The job of cinema should be to make society look at it a little better and do things a little clearer in whatever genre it does that, and it is specially tricky to do in a comedy,' Singh said.
He also praised the film's portrayal of a variety of characters, including his own character, Maheshwari, who is a refreshing departure from the hyper-masculine, testosterone-fuelled depiction of police officers that has become common in Hindi films.
'Softness is not opposed to masculinity, they are not mutually exclusive,' Singh said. 'I do think that we have gotten too much of this hyper masculine… it is just ridiculous past a point.'
The film, which stars Madhuri Dixit, Triptii Dimri, and Dharna Durga, has struck a chord with audiences for blending important social issues with crowd-pleasing entertainment.
Other actors in the film, including Geetanjali Kulkarni and Shardul Bhardwaj, also spoke about the importance of balancing comedy with meaningful storytelling and the challenges of tackling serious issues in a light-hearted genre.
