When our male actors can be ‘evergreen,’ why can’t their female counterparts be femme-fatales with no reference to age?
In Khatron Ke Khiladi, Rekha adores a younger Akshay Kumar, in Dil Chahta Hai, Akshaye Khanna loves an older Dimple, and in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Ranbir Kapoor is fascinated with Aishwarya Rai. These are instances, not rules.
Mumbai: Age may be just a number, but the interpretation of the numbers remains subjective, especially in the film industry.
As 59-year-old Salman Khan gets set to romance Rashmika Mandanna, who is 31 years his junior, in Sikander, the actor says it’s no big deal. Not stopping at that, he’s gone on record to say that when Rashmika marries and has a daughter, he will even work with the daughter!
“They say that hero-heroine have age difference of 31 years. When the heroine has no problem, the heroine’s father has now, then what's your problem, brother?).”
Reacting to his statement, singer Sona Mohapatra took to X and posted, “the ‘BHAI’ of toxic masculinity, patriarchy doesn’t realise that #India has changed?”
The question isn’t limited to ‘Bhai’; has Bollywood changed?
Such December-May pairings have long been the subject of scrutiny.
The examples are many. In the early 60’s, matinee idols Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand and Raj Kapoor romanced heroines half their age. The legendary NT Rama Rao (NTR) starred opposite a 16-year-old Sridevi in Vetagadu, despite her having played his granddaughter in another film just a few years earlier. More recently, Amitabh Bachchan starred opposite Jiah Khan who was 46 years younger than him in Nishabdh, and in Sivaji: The Boss, Rajnikanth romanced Shriya Saran who was 32 years his junior.
Film analyst Girish Wankhede says audiences are willing to suspend disbelief when the performances resonate with them.
In Sarfira, 29-year-old Radhika Madan was cast opposite 56-year-old Akshay Kumar, but the latter said no one noticed the age difference on screen, it was only the chemistry between them that was apparent.
“It is essential to recognize that on-screen chemistry transcends age, and the audience’s acceptance of these pairings is what ultimately matters. In many instances, significant age gaps between lead actors have not only been accepted but have also contributed to the success of films,” says Wankhede.
However, the same acceptance is not accorded to female stars.
Actor Vidya Balan points out that even though female actors continue to evolve, their male counterparts seem to be stuck in time. “Our heroes don’t do anything age-appropriate. At age 55 they romance 25-years-olds. So, we are the cool ones, who continue to chart our path,” she says.
Her senior colleague, Neena Gupta, adds to this view: “Though some may feel bad, it is true that men my age continue to romance on screen, while I am given roles of the grandmother etc. I’m happy with the work I have, but I would love to be cast opposite Hrithik Roshan as well.”
Female actors such as Dia Mirza have called out age-based discrimination towards women as real and horrible.
There have, of course, been films like Khatron Ke Khiladi, where Rekha romances a much younger Akshay Kumar, Dil Chahta Hai, in which Akshaye Khanna’s character is in love with a much older Dimple, and recently, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, where Ranbir Kapoor becomes obsessed with the older Aishwarya Rai. But these are exceptions, rather than the rule.
“It’s social conditioning; what we see in reality is often seen on screen. An older man can confidently walk around with a younger woman, but when an older woman is seen with a younger man it’s bound to raise eyebrows and brushed off as the woman having a midlife crisis”, says a female actor on condition of anonymity.
She adds that even though several of her colleagues, like Priyanka Chopra and Katrina Kaif, married younger men, the age gap is what is always highlighted.
Actor Shefali Shah says it’s been a learning curve. “I decided to no longer play mom to an actor younger than me. That’s what they kept coming to me with, and even at the cost of not getting assignments I said No.”
Priyanka Chopra recalls that when she was 28, she was told that she was done as a leading lady since she had gone past ‘the age.’ “Today at 42, I am a leading lady in Hollywood, which was unheard of here in Bollywood,” she points out.
“The audience in general is not very welcoming of May-December casting, in Bollywood, where female actors fall into the ‘December’ bracket,” says a writer. “They love it when the hero serenades a younger woman, but the reverse is still seen as an oddity, and takes on a different narrative. You cannot defy perceptions.”
HIGHLIGHT
“Our heroes don’t do anything age-appropriate. At age 55 they romance 25-years-olds. So, we are the cool ones, who continue to chart our path.”— Vidya Balan, actor
“Though some may feel bad, it is true that men my age continue to romance on screen, while I am given roles of the grandmother etc. I’m happy with the work I have, but I would love to be cast opposite Hrithik Roshan as well.” — Neena Gupta, actor
“It is essential to recognize that on-screen chemistry transcends age, and the audience’s acceptance of these pairings is what ultimately matters.”— Film analyst Girish Wankhede
“I decided to no longer play mom to an actor younger than me. That’s what they kept coming to me with, and even at the cost of not getting assignments I said No.”— Actor Shefali Shah
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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