Menstruation, premarital sex, teenage pregnancy: 5 progressive topics Anurag Kashyap discussed with daughter Aaliyah

Anurag Kashyap is undoubtedly one of the most progressive filmmakers we have in Bollywood. The director recently proved that he is equally forward-thinking in his real-life too after he opened up about topics like menstruation, pre-marital sex, teenage pregnancy and others in a video with his daughter Aaliyah Kashyap. In case you missed it, here are five progressive topics the filmmaker discussed with his daughter.

There are a lot of taboos attached to the biological functions of women’s bodies. However, Anurag Kashyap feels if men cannot experience it, they should simply not have an opinion about it. He said, “Why would I have an opinion on periods? Men should not have any opinion on it because they don’t experience it. We need to normalise it. The amount of shame associated with it has pushed some parts of the country to deal with it quietly. That should not be the case.”

Aaliyah asked Anurag how he would react if one day, out of the blue, she tells him that she is pregnant. Replying to her question, the director said, “I will ask you, ‘Are you sure you want this?’ And whatever you choose to do, I will always go with it, you know that,” he said. On being prodded further, he added, “I will accept it. Whatever choices you make, I will accept it. I would absolutely tell you that there is a price to pay for it but at the end of it, I will still be there.”

Aaliyah also asked her father his opinions on premarital sex. To that, Anurag said, “It’s a question that we asked in the 80s. I think now we should get beyond that question. That’s a question that we used to ask when we were in college and we used to moralise.”

Elaborating further, he added, “No, we need to understand sexuality and sex and our own human body. We need to understand that first before we just jump into doing things out of peer pressure. Anything done out of peer pressure is not good. Anything done to look cool is not good. Anything done to belong to a certain group of people is not good. Do it because you want to do something because you feel ready and you have someone. It has to be special.”

Aaliyah has been dating Shane Gregoire for over a year now. Talking about him, Anurag said, “I like Shane. I like your choice of friends and your choice of boys. Shane is very good. He is very spiritual, very calm, he has a lot of qualities that men of 40 don’t have, in terms of being there in difficult situations.”

Further, he also spoke about sleepovers with boyfriends. “Once you are an adult, then you make your own life decisions. I don’t even probably have a say in the matter, except concern. I would just tell you to be safe and keep my phone on, if you want to call me,” he added.

Aaliyah also asked him about his reaction if he found out that she was gay. Anurag not only gave yet another progressive answer to this question but also shared a message for all parents out there. He said, “I would say don’t be afraid of something that you don’t understand. They (parents) overreact because they fear. Always go back to how you were at that age and how you would feel that your parents don’t understand.”