Gully Boy director Zoya Akhtar calls rappers Divine, Naezy 'hardcore feminists who might not know the word'

Gully Boy director Zoya Akhtar may have touched a nerve with her remarks on rappers Divine and Naezy’s understanding of feminism. The film Gully Boy is an ode to the street rappers of Mumbai and borrows heavily from the lives of both Divine and Naezy. In an interview with Mid-Day, Akhtar described the rappers’ distinct style, what makes them stand out and why they represent a lot of voices. She proceeded to call them “hard-core feminists” but said they might be unaware of the term feminism/feminist. “I don’t think they know the word. But it’s in the way they talk about women, and also in the way they don’t talk about them. There is also no cynicism in them, and they are all about making a change,” she told Mid-Day, elaborating on what she found most attractive about the two musicians, in a time when the country was waking up to the #MeToo movement. Akhtar’s remarks, though, are being met with criticism with people accusing her of furthering the stereotype that most rappers are uneducated. Her interview was tweeted by Naezy himself, who said: “We are hardcore feminists and we don’t know the word. Okay,”

We are hardcore feminists and we don’t know the word. Okay,🤔https://t.co/i37m7Fvp2z

— Naezy (@NaezyTheBaA) February 10, 2019

Although his tweet does not seem overly critical of the director, it does reflect a certain degree of disapproval. He hasn’t issued an explanation of his comment yet.

That part made me laugh and angry at the same time. They(industry) really think rappers are uneducated. Smh. pic.twitter.com/L0KXpYT1EL

— BHRAM (@prabhdeepmusic) February 10, 2019

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Gully Boy releases on 14 February and stars Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh in lead roles.