Age doesn't matter in Bollywood

Many of Bollywood's heroes may be in their forties, but that does not stop them from playing college students on screen.

In the upcoming Rang De Basanti, promoted aggressively as a youth film, 40-year-old superstar Aamir Khan looks quite out of place.

Rang De director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra defends this by mentioning the technicality that Aamir's character in the film isn't a college kid, he is 30.

Dil Chahta Hai:

In 2001, Farhan Akhtar's cinematic debut ushered in a new wave in Bollywood.

The urban film dealt with the story of three yuppies whose only aim in life was to have a blast. Obviously, this included discos, affairs, and holidays in Goa.

It's just that they were the oldest college boys ever. Even though Aamir established a new style statement with his goatee, the then 35-year-old actor really didn't fit in at the college farewell.

The same holds true for Saif Ali Khan and the courageous Akshaye Khanna, who ignored his increasingly visible baldness to play a college goer.

Tere Naam:

If Salman Khan had his way, he would never grow up, either on or off screen.

In Tere Naam, Salman played a guy just out of college. He was then 37 years old.

But the public didn't care.

The movie went on to become one of the biggest hits of that year, and everybody forgot Salman's obvious miscasting.

Hulchul:

Akshaye Khanna was a non-starter in the industry ever since he was launched in the 1997 dud Himalayaputra.

Dil Chahta Hai was the first film where Akshaye was truly appreciated, but he hadn't gotten a big solo hit.

Then came the 2004 comedy, Hulchul.

Khanna again played a college student opposite Kareena Kapoor, and the Priyadarshan film was lapped up eagerly by audiences, making Akshaye a hit hero.

Guess this means he should stick to college going characters.

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai:

When Shah Rukh Khan went to college in Main Hoon Na, students laughed at him mercilessly, Zayed Khan even calling him 'uncle'.

We wonder why the same lines weren't applied to Shah Rukh in the first half of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, where he was definitely not fitting in as a college student.

But Karan Johar's debut wasn't about reality, and its college was straight out of Archie comics, as were the miniskirts and designer clothes.

And when it comes to SRK, audiences don't mind the unimaginable. The film was a colossal hit.

Jaani Dushman:

What? Suniel Shetty, Akshay Kumar, Aditya Pancholi, Arshad Warsi and Manisha Koirala as college kids?

And we aren't talking about a film from the early 1990s. This monstrosity was made in 2002.

What were these actors thinking when they signed up for this flop?

With the whole film set in college, Koirala plays an icchadhari nag (a shape-shifting snake) and is, for some godforsaken reason, out to wreak vengeance.

After eight box-office disasters, Jaani Dushman was Armaan Kohli's last shot at stardom. The film failed, and so did Armaan, who thankfully disappeared from the acting scene.