Dr. Salman Akhtar talks about Bollywood and the Indian unconsciousness. In Part-II of our conversation he discusses the films made in the 1950s and 1960s right after India became independent. A hallmark of films made during this period is the the male sexuality anxiety theme that dominated the films points out Dr. Akhtar.

Women were divided into two groups: good and bad woman.

The heroines were always the good women, who did not wear revealing clothes or have a sexual dimension to their personality. The role of the bad woman, or the vamp, was played by actress like Kukoo, Helen and others. Dr. Akhtar also discusses that handy and ubiquitous device that was employed in many Hindi films: rain. What role does rain play in these films? Why are heroines always shown drenched in rain?

What are the reasons for this male sexual anxiety in Indian films? Listen to Dr. Akhtar explain the underlying reasons for the tension that existed in Hindi films during this period.

Dr. Akhtar explains the history and evolution of Indian cinema by looking at the political and social underpinning and landscape of India. According to Dr. Akhtar Hindi films in many ways reflects Indian society at any given period and Hindi films depict and satisfy a cultural hunger and individual and psychological dilemmas at any given period of time.

Dr. Salman Akhtar comes from a family of poets and his father Jaan Nissar Akhtar, a well-known poet and lyricist who was a contemporary of Kaifi Azmi. His mother Safiya was a professor and the sister of Majaz, another well-known poet. Dr. Akhtar is the brother of Javed Akhtar.

Dr. Akhtar grew up in Lucknow and later on migrated to the US where he currently lives and works.

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