Karan Johar has revealed that he had to get a speech therapy done so that he could “sound like a boy”. This is the same Karan Johar who broke many stereotypes in our society with the help of his films. His movies like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and DDLJ became a reason to make families a part of romance. Karan Johar, the person who fought with societal prejudices has himself been a victim of its thinking.
While criticizing the roles set out by society he said, its problematic when people use phrases like ‘dont cry like a girl’ or ‘be a man’. According to him, there is no need to put things into boxes. His remark not only highlights the gender roles that pre-exists in our society. Instead, his remark also highlights the fact that women do not enjoy equality with men and are given status of ‘second gender’.
Karan Johar said that he had to visit the speech therapist at a young age of 15 years. All this was because according to others his voice was ‘squeaky’. He also appreciated his parents for not questioning his habits which didn’t appear as ‘masculine’ to society.
Now, Karan Johar is a celebrity who not only celebrates his life but also teaches others to celebrate it through his films like Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Kal Ho Na Ho, Dostana and many others.
Our society is full of prejudices. Our society differentiates between men and women on many grounds. Some such parameters are clothes, body language, hair, and even their voice! Yes, something as natural as voice can be a matter of “shame” for people who do not fit into societal parameters of being a male or female.
People are debating about Queer rights, yet many others are not comfortable with the “Binary gender”. They are still not comfortable with women taking on the charge. They are still not comfortable with men “behaving like women” and women doing something which society thinks is “made for men”.
