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Bollywood clearly struggles to buy condoms. Let these throwback Shekhar Suman, Amitabh Bachchan videos explain

Condoms and Indians share a very complicated relationship and it is not lost on Bollywood.

If there’s anything that people struggle to purchase more than undergarments, it is condoms. Today, the taboo surrounding sex, or any conversation surrounding it, but to be honest most Indians are still ‘in the closet’ when it comes to discussing it freely with their kids, with each other or with their doctors.  Even though people have started to educate themselves on the subject, many still consider it an uphill task to show up at a drug store and buy condoms.

The struggles of the common Indian is not lost on Bollywood. The 1986 film Anubhav included a scene where Shekhar Suman reluctantly steps into a chemist shop and can’t seem the bring the one question in his mind to the tip of his tongue- “Aapke paas nirodh hain kya?” Granted the film is from a time when the stigma around sex was much greater, some would find the character’s jitteriness quite relatable.

Here is the full scene from the movie:

Whatever be the case, nothing can trump Amitabh Bachchan’s reservations from uttering that one word which makes your colony wali aunty dig out for her listening devices and night-vision goggles. In the ad for Durex, which also poses as a promotional video for Big B’s 2007 film Cheeni Kum, Bachchan doesn’t even say what it is that he wishes to purchase but the uneasiness in his demeanour says it all.

“Around the world, love speaks one language. Durex celebrates love with Cheeni Kum,” says the voiceover.

Watch the video below: