5 takeaways from Agastya Nanda's conversation with Jaya Bachchan, Navya Nanda, Shweta Bachchan on masculinity
On the latest What The Hell Navya episode, Navya Nanda discussed men and toxicity with Agastya Nanda, Shweta and Jaya Bachchan.
The latest episode of Navya Nanda’s podcast What The Hell Navya 2 dropped on Thursday. With her brother, The Archies actor Agastya Nanda joining her, her mom Shweta Bachchan and grandmother Jaya Bachchan as a special guest, the quartet discussed everything about men and masculinity. Here are five takeaways from the episode. (Also Read: Jaya Bachchan says women are ‘stupid’ not to let men pay on dates: 'They're saying don't be chivalrous')
‘I believe in a healthy balance’
Agastya opened up on the episode that while masculinity isn’t something they ever discussed as a family, it is something that he discussed with friends. “I believe you should embrace both your masculine and feminine sides, and show emotions. I show emotion, I am in touch with my feminine side. I believe in a healthy balance of both. I’ve never been told not to show emotions, so I don’t think it’s wrong,” he said. Shweta pointed out that there was a time when men were supposed to not ‘cry, get scared or hurt.’ She also said, “I think I’m doing something right if he (Agastya) doesn’t think that (it’s wrong to show emotions).”
‘We should follow our natural tendencies’
Agastya said that he doesn’t behave the way he does with his male friends towards women, and it’s not because he is toxic. “I like how men and women have natural tendencies that are different. It’s that feeling of being gentler towards a woman. I am not trying to be toxic, but I like to treat them with care. I won’t talk to a girl like I do with my (male) friends. I like the nurturing aspect of a woman, it’s the most beautiful thing. I won’t get that with dad (Nikhil Nanda), nanu (Amitabh Bachchan) or mamu (Abhishek Bachchan). I am also not against the idea of a man being domestic, I just don’t think I can do it,” he said.
‘I learn from my father’
Agastya pointed out how being a man is ‘individual’ to the person and that there’s no ‘template’ to it. “Each person has a different way of showing who they are from the inside. I don’t think you should try to be someone else or try to live up to an image,” he said. He also added that he looks to the men around him for guidance. “I am seeing how they behave. Mostly, it’s your father, the comparison you make to how you should be as a man,” he added. But he made it clear that he doesn’t follow his father to the T, stating, “There are things I really like about how he is. There are things I don’t and feel differently about.”
‘I became religious and spiritual’
Agastya revealed that while working on The Archies, he became religious and spiritual. “We’re so used to getting things in an instant that it’s easy to lose faith. It came naturally to me, I became religious and spiritual. When I started acting, I didn’t know if people would like me. So, I did my best and left the rest to God, to keep faith in something beyond me,” he said. He also revealed that he went through a ‘bad phase of anxiety’ then. Shweta chimed in that men are vocal about burnout now, while Jaya said people are mentally exhausted. Jaya even lost her cool when she thought Shweta and Navya were pulling her leg about it.
‘Cried when I saw The Archies trailer’
Shweta pointed out that Agastya is a lot more emotional compared to Navya, to which he said, “My friends don’t think that. I am only emotional with family and with my loved ones. If I feel safe, I open up.” Navya, however, pointed out that she has ‘become more expressive’ and that she cried while watching the trailer of The Archies. “I am becoming more expressive, I cried when I saw his trailer. That’s new for me, I was ugly crying,” she said. While Agastya told her that’s not the ‘benchmark of being expressive,’ Jaya pointed out that Agastya ‘cries like mamu.’
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