logo
‘Aap Jaisa Koi' doesn't wage war on patriarchy. It asks it to listen

‘Aap Jaisa Koi' doesn't wage war on patriarchy. It asks it to listen

Indian Express15-07-2025
In Indian cinema, patriarchy rarely announces itself with a clenched fist. It arrives as habit. As inheritance, and politeness. It lingers in the pauses of male entitlement — in who gets to interrupt, who is expected to adjust, who walks ahead on the street, and who apologises first in love. Netflix's new film, Aap Jaisa Koi, directed by Vivek Soni, doesn't wage war on patriarchy. It does something rarer — asking it to sit down quietly and listen.
The film explores what equal love might look like — not as ideology, but as everyday practice. In doing so, it touches one of Indian cinema's enduring blind spots: The inability to portray intimacy without hierarchy.
Patriarchy in Indian cinema has often been dramatised as violence — a father opposing a marriage, a man slapping his wife, or an overt villain controlling the heroine's choices. But its most persistent form is subtle, woven into affection, justified by culture, and disguised as care.
Aap Jaisa Koi understands this deeply. Its male protagonist, Shrirenu Tripathi (played with affecting restraint by R Madhavan), is not a patriarch in the classical sense. He is soft-spoken, educated, even kind. But his kindness comes with conditions. His affection arrives with hesitation. His silence, as the film shows, is not always humility — sometimes it's avoidance, sometimes entitlement.
In one of the most telling scenes, Shrirenu delays expressing his feelings for Madhu Bose (Fatima Sana Shaikh), even as she meets him halfway emotionally. When she finally says, 'Don't make your hesitation my burden,' it's not a line crafted for applause. It's a quiet resistance — the kind women are forced to offer in relationships built on unequal emotional labour.
What distinguishes Aap Jaisa Koi is its commitment to subtlety — not as aesthetic, but as politics. The film resists loud feminism or confrontational drama. Instead, it offers something more intimate: A portrait of negotiation. Between two people. Between tradition and selfhood. Between care and control.
Shaikh's Madhu is not a cinematic 'strong woman'. She is not angry, argumentative, or radical in the traditional sense. Her strength lies in her refusal to bend quietly. She asks questions. She sets boundaries. She is warm, but unyielding when needed. And crucially, she does not 'fix' the man — she waits for him to meet her on equal ground, or not at all.
That itself is a disruption of cinematic convention. Indian heroines have long been expected to absorb — the anger, the indifference, the delay, the distance.
Madhavan's portrayal of Shrirenu is particularly moving because it shows a man struggling not with love, but with unlearning. He is not cruel; he is conditioned. Raised in a family where men withdraw rather than speak, where decisions are made on their behalf by well-meaning elders, his emotional language is half-formed. His journey is not about transformation, but about recognising that passivity can be a form of control, too.
In one key moment, when Madhu offers him affection and clarity, he withdraws, calling himself 'not ready'. But the film does not applaud this honesty. Instead, it holds him accountable. Readiness, it suggests, is not a virtue when it leaves someone else waiting in uncertainty.
The film's point here is profound: Emotional withholding, when unacknowledged, becomes its own form of power.
Director Vivek Soni and cinematographer Debojeet Ray craft this story with warmth and quietness. There is no spectacle. A raised eyebrow, a pause, a half-finished sentence become tools of power and protest.
One such moment comes when Madhu, returning from a frustrating family visit, confronts Shrirenu not with anger but with clarity. She says what women are often expected to leave unsaid: That love without equality is not romantic — it is exhausting.
And the film listens.
We are living in a time when mainstream Indian cinema is haltingly turning its gaze inward. Aap Jaisa Koi is part of that shift. It doesn't deliver a lecture on gender. It models a conversation — one where silence is interrogated, not celebrated; where love is offered, but not at the cost of self.
In doing so, it asks: What does a truly equal relationship look like in a culture still learning to name its biases? And what happens when we stop applauding the bare minimum from men, and start expecting more?
The film doesn't offer easy resolutions. But it offers something better: The possibility that if we can acknowledge our conditioning, we can change it. Gently. Daily. Together.
The writer is an actor, educator, filmmaker, and public policy advocate
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Zareen Khan hilariously claps back at ageist troll saying ‘shaadi kar lo, buddhi ho rahi ho'
Zareen Khan hilariously claps back at ageist troll saying ‘shaadi kar lo, buddhi ho rahi ho'

Hindustan Times

time15 minutes ago

  • Hindustan Times

Zareen Khan hilariously claps back at ageist troll saying ‘shaadi kar lo, buddhi ho rahi ho'

Actor Zareen Khan recently took to Instagram to deliver a sharp and humorous comeback to an ageist troll who commented on her post, saying, 'Shaadi kar lo, buddhi ho rahi ho' (Get married, you're getting old). Rather than ignore it, Zareen responded with wit and clarity—calling out the regressive mindset that views marriage as a solution to ageing or life's problems. In a new video, actor Zareen Khan advocated for women's independence and critiqued the notion that marriage guarantees happiness. Zareen Khan claps back at ageist trolls She went on to highlight how marriage is often positioned especially in Indian society as a cure-all for everything. Zareen questioned why, when someone is unproductive or "not doing anything" with their life, families often default to 'Shaadi karwa do' as a solution. 'How is that helpful?' she asked. 'If someone can't take care of themselves, adding another person to the chaos won't fix anything—it might just ruin two lives instead of one.' Zareen also pointed out that women's independence is still seen as threatening in many households. 'If a girl starts becoming too independent or opinionated, families panic and say, 'She's slipping out of our hands.' And again, the solution is: get her married.' Ending her statement with a reality check, she asked, 'Is marriage some kind of magic? From what I see, most marriages today barely last two or three months. So no, marriage is not the answer to every problem.' Zareen Khan's career Zareen Khan, who began her career with the 2010 film Veer opposite Salman Khan, has long faced public scrutiny, including unfair comparisons to Katrina Kaif. Zareen gradually established her own identity with performances in films like Housefull 2, Hate Story 3, and 1921. Apart from Hindi cinema, she has also worked in Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu films. Zareen has often spoken out against body shaming and societal expectations. She was last seen in the 2021 film Hum Bhi Akele Tum Bhi Akele.

‘Hari Hara Veera Mallu' day two box office: Pawan Kalyan's film crosses ₹50 crore but sees dip in collection
‘Hari Hara Veera Mallu' day two box office: Pawan Kalyan's film crosses ₹50 crore but sees dip in collection

The Hindu

time15 minutes ago

  • The Hindu

‘Hari Hara Veera Mallu' day two box office: Pawan Kalyan's film crosses ₹50 crore but sees dip in collection

Pawan Kalyan's Hari Hara Veera Malluenjoyed a good opening on July 24, 2025 but suffered a dip in collection on the second day of its release. Directed by Jyothi Krishna and Krish Jagarlamudi, the movie is bankrolled by A Dayakar Rao and AM Rathnam. Hari Hara Veera Mallu, after facing multiple delays, released with great fanfare in the Telugu states. However, the historical drama opened to mixed reviews from fans and critics alike. According to Sacnilk, the pan-Indian movie collected ₹34.75 crore on the opening day. On the second day, earned just ₹7.77 crore at the box office. Overall, Hari Hara Veera Mallu has cross the ₹50-crore mark globally, managing to earn ₹55.27 crore. ALSO READ: Pawan Kalyan on 'Hari Hara Veera Mallu': I have not abandoned my film In the movie, Veera Mallu plays an outlaw who is tasked with retrieving the Kohinoor from the Mughals. Niddhi Agerwal, Bobby Deol and Sathyaraj are the other actors in prominent roles. The Hindu review of the movie said, 'The closing moments are reminiscent of SS Rajamouli's RRR. It is hard to elaborate without giving too much away, but the intended high point lacks both conviction and emotional weight. If there is a second part, it will need far sharper writing and more assured filmmaking.'

India's most expensive serial, 143 episodes made for massive Rs..., much more than Ramayan, has 8.5 IMDb rating, name is...
India's most expensive serial, 143 episodes made for massive Rs..., much more than Ramayan, has 8.5 IMDb rating, name is...

India.com

time15 minutes ago

  • India.com

India's most expensive serial, 143 episodes made for massive Rs..., much more than Ramayan, has 8.5 IMDb rating, name is...

In this era of Indian cinema, filmmakers and producers invest crores and crores of rupees as the budget for movies and series. However, would you believe if we told you that a show made 32 years ago was considered one of the most expensive television shows of its time? The budget for the show, released three decades ago, was a whopping Rs 12 crore, which was massive back then. Many might assume the serial we're talking about is Ramanand Sagar's Ramayana, but it isn't. Scroll down to read more. Most Expensive TV Show Released 32 Years Ago This series was released in 1993 and aired on DD National. The show belonged to the thriller genre and had two seasons. If you're wondering which series we're talking about, it's the iconic Alif Laila. Most Popular TV Serial in 1993 Alif Laila was one of the most popular TV serials of 1993. It was based on Ek Hazar Ek Raatein, also known as Arabian Nights. The show was produced by Sagar Arts and released in two parts. It first aired in 1993 and ran till 2002. After its DD National run, it was also telecast on Sab TV, but the most popular was the first season, from 1993 to 1997. This show generated so much suspense and excitement among viewers that they didn't miss a single episode. It ran for nearly three years, producing a total of 143 episodes. According to several reports, each episode cost around ₹9 lakh to make. Adding up the expenses for all 143 episodes, the total production cost amounted to a massive sum. That means the total cost of 143 episodes of Alif Laila was ₹12.87 crore, making it the most expensive show of its time. The show was directed by Anand Sagar, Prem Sagar, and Moti Sagar. It holds an impressive IMDb rating of 8.5. The series featured stars like Firoz Ali, Girija Shankar, Damini Kanwal Shetty, Arun Govil, Shahnawaz Pradhan, Shah Nawaz, and Aslam Khan. Viewers loved this show so much that even today, people from that era fondly remember it.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store