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Podcast host and journalist Nikhil Taneja’s show ‘Be a Man Yaar’ has taken the internet by storm, as it delves into the topic of masculinity, showing emotions as a man, and breaking barriers to men’s mental health. The show recently concluded it’s second season and all of the episodes are on Youtube for audiences to view for free, creating a safe space in the comments for discussion around finding male companions to discuss one’s troubles with.
Taneja started his career in leadership positions at Yash Raj Films, Viacom and MTV India before moving in front of the camera.
“I would rather not be in front of it … I tried looking for a host, I just didn’t realize if there could be someone who could do justice to what I was trying to do purely because I’m so passionate about it.”
With a background in journalism, Taneja’s interest in men’s mental health and creating conversations for safe spaces was a driving factor to jump over his hurdle of being camera conscious.
“I don’t give my own thoughts if they’re unnecessary. I try to make conversation with them, I put them at ease and let them complete whatever thought that they had, even if their thought goes on for like 10 minutes sometimes.”
Taneja tries to meet his guests at least once before filming with them for the show, to let them know what the experience will be like, and what topics he will cover. Him and his team also try their best to create an environment on set that helps their guest feel like it’s safe to open up to him, and forget that there’s a camera in front of them.
“One of the things we do right when they come in is we give them flowers, and you don’t usually give flowers to men, so it’s just about putting them in a good mood.”
The set of the show is decorated with photos of the guest’s family and friends, along with backgrounds and posters that make them feel invited into the space. Taneja aims to break the expectations of what men are supposed to be like, and the hobbies they like, and instead do something that genuinely makes them happy.
‘Be a Man Yaar’ has created a space for discussion around men’s mental health in a way that no other South Asian podcast or show has, and it’s only set to get bigger and better.
“In many ways, it sometimes feels like to me that my entire life has led up to this show, it is a combination of everything I have gone through as a man to have reached here.”
Taneja’s Gen-Z impact driven organization Yuvaa is the main producer for the show, and it was when they drove around the country and spoke to men in campuses and universities in different towns that they came up with the idea of the podcast.
“I went to about 35 cities, the intention was to create safe spaces for young people offline, because I’m a really big believer that all of us require safe spaces … when it came to men, most men in these safe spaces would talk about love and heartbreak, and then I started thinking that why is it that so many men talk about heartbreak in these spaces? And then you start recognizing that that’s the only emotion that is normalized for men to talk about.”
Taneja’s recent episode of ‘Be a Man Yaar’ featuring Bhuvan Bam has gained over a million views, and for the first time, viewers saw him speak about how alcoholism affected his family.
“Every word that he was speaking, everybody had latched onto, it was like everybody had locked in, and it was possibly one of my favorite conversations in life to have had with anybody.”
