Dr. Salman Akhtar talks about the new genre of films that he calls "nostalgic defense," his nephew Farhan Akhtar and the surprising connection to the 2006 Oscars.

We start the discussion with the new genre of films that first appeared in 1988. What is different about these films is that it caters to the NRI and RNI audience. Dr. Akhtar wonder why is it that in these new films the hero is never depicted as being poor and struggling? Instead, the hero in this new genre of films lives in big houses and goes off on foreign jaunts. Why is that?

Dr. Akhtar discusses his nephew Farhan Akhtar's film Dil Chahata Hai. And there is a surprising connection to the 2006 Oscar from Dr. Akhtar's family. Listen and discover what that connection is.

In this podcast series 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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