Delhi audience is loud and very vocal: Farhan Akhtar

Calling Delhi concert-goers ‘remarkable’, Farhan Akhtar talks about gender equality and the real message behind his music.
The fact that Farhan Akhtar dons multiple hats with equal élan is not news – he finds satisfaction in giving form to his fantasies on celluloid, expressing his thoughts through songs and spreading his messages of gender equality while performing live.And he is currently enjoying fulfiling all three roles – that of an actor, songwriter and singer. In a chat with DT, Farhan tells us how he channels his inner self through different forms of art, and still strives to do more for the society.
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Loud Delhi concert-goers Touring various cities to perform live at concerts and college fests takes up quite a chunk of Farhan’s dates, and he says the audience at every place is special in their own way. Delhi concert-goers, for one, are very loud, he says. “The audience is different everywhere you go, they have a different dynamic, in terms of the songs that they request. I’ve been fortunate enough to encounter very enthusiastic crowds wherever I have gone. Music has the ability to generate a community feeling, be it a classical concert or any other. It’s about experiencing something together. Even for you as a performer, it is impossible to have fun if you are not getting something back from the audience. One thing that is remarkable about the Delhi audience is that they are loud and very vocal, so that’s always fun.”
Music with a message For Farhan, making music and performing live is not just about entertainment – it’s also about talking about issues that move him. He tells us, “Performing live is more like a vehicle to take my MARD initiative to colleges and tell them what MARD stands for. It is a way to engage boys, who would be men very soon, in thinking about what are the basic values that make a man, what is their opinion of who a man is. So it’s good to have these discussions, and only when we are talking about these things can there be a realisation or an introspection. As an artiste, if you have the opportunity to share your fantasies through films and an opportunity to express who you are through songs and poetry, I feel very fortunate to be able to do it.”
Another example of his music-with-a-message act is his recent collaboration with Vishal Dadlani and the band SKRAT on a song for the television premiere of X-Men: Days Of The Future Past. “The song is about the importance of standing up when you see something happening around you. It talks about how anyone can be a hero if they have the courage to stand up for the right thing. It fits in with the concept of the franchise – the classic good vs evil.”
Gender equality is not just a ‘woman’s problem’ It is his urge to stand up for the right and speak up about issues that bother him that made Farhan take up the cause of gender equality, a crusade he has been fighting for years now. “When somebody asks me about gender equality now, it feels like talking about my Dil Chahta Hai days. I am affected by what happens around me. You can sit quietly and say, ‘it’s not my problem’, or you can wait for something to happen to somebody you know. We are very fortunate that we have the platform to reach out to millions of people through our work. There came a point where I felt that I wanted to entertain and engage my audience, but that cannot be my only relationship with the people. I thought I should I share what I feel with them.” And that’s where it all began for him. But why gender equality of all causes? Farhan explains, “It’s a very pressing issue and it includes many things – violence, dowry, rape, female infanticide, sending the girl child to school, child marriage. Gender equality is one big umbrella, and there are so many issues underneath it. We talk about India being the superpower and wanting to be a global player, but it’s really important that a certain social health exists. We have to look out for each other. The constant complain about ‘where are the cops’ – it is not possible for the cops to be in every corner of every city. So, what are we doing as parents and responsible citizens? All this was brewing inside me, and it came out in the form of wanting to speak to boys and young men. It’s really important that they realize that this is not just a ‘woman’s problem’. It’s also a man’s problem and we are also a part of that problem.”
Cause for common concern Farhan became the first male goodwill ambassador for UN Women in South Asia, and he was at a UN session last month to talk about gender equality. He tells us, “It was invigorating to see people from across the world gathering together with a common concern. The problem does not exist only in India, it is there all over the world, and everyone is concerned that it cannot go on like this. The human race has made such advances in every other field, it’s baffling how we can’t get something so basic right in our value system.”
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