Age no bar?

I thought this was an interesting article in the face of certain trade analysts thinking some actresses are not worth watching in their films anymore.😊
Age no bar
23 Jul 2008, 0043 hrs IST,TNN

What do Bipasha Basu, Vidya Balan, Rani Mukerji and Konkona Sen Sharma have in common these days?

Well, these powerhouse women from B-town are romancing 'younger' actors on screen. Vidya Balan, 30, teams up with hottie Shahid Kapoor, 27, in Kismat Konnection , Bipasha Basu, 29, will share screen space with Ranbir Kapoor, 26, in Bachna Ae Haseeno and Neil Nitin Mukesh, 26, in Freeze.

Rani Mukerji, 29, gets set to work with Shahid in the new Yash Raj film, while Konkona, 29, is working with Ranbir in yet another untitled flick. Not that these lovely ladies are the first ones to have worked with younger co-actors in recent times.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, 35, has romanced now husband, Abhishek, 32, in several films, the most recent was Sarkar Raj and with Hrithik Roshan in Jodhaa Akbar and Dhoom 2. Both are younger than her. Tabu, 36, worked with 20-something debutant Kunal Kapoor in Meenaxi — A Tale of Three Cities. Ameesha, 29, had worked with her brother's school friend Zayed Khan, 27, in Vaada , three years ago.

If you unspool the filmi reels, you'd find Madhuri Dixit being serenaded by Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye Khanna, Sridevi being wooed by Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar and Rekha being courted by Akshay Kumar. All the divas were older than their reel lovers. And some of these films even created BO records!

Are the scripts becoming mature? Is the audience growing up? "No I don't think so. Sometimes, the script of the movie requires the heroine to be older than her male counterpart. I believe that it's the way she looks and not her age that counts. The actors should be able to pull their characters in the right direction. That's all that matters in the end. If a 60-plus Amitabh Bachchan can romance an 18-year-old girl in a movie, then a slightly older actor too has the right to romance with her hero, who is much younger than her in years. Stereotypes should be broken," feels film-maker Kabir Khan.

Two decades ago, the likes of Waheeda Rehman and Nutan played the romantic lead opposite Amitabh Bachchan, and Asha Parekh got courted by Rajesh Khanna and Feroz Khan. Most young actors have no problems working with 'older' heroines if the script justifies it or the lead pair look good together. "The trend of casting older heroines opposite younger heroes exists right from the advent of talkies in India," says Ashmit Patel. He says, "The bottomline is — it's the acting skill and not the age of an actor that matters.

While watching a movie, the audience isn't too interested in the heroine's age, they pay closer heed to the storyline." Ashmit Patel, himself has worked with the likes of Mallika Sherawat in Murder , Meera in Nazar and Urmila Matondkar in Benaras . All three are older than Ashmit in real life.

Many more film-makers seem to be opening up to the idea. "Take a look at the heroines from Madhuri Dixit to Vidya Balan, Rani Mukerji, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan — none of them look older than their heroes on screen. And what's wrong if they are cast opposite younger heroes? " avers film-maker Kunal Kohli.

Point taken. Well, as long as these pairings lead to box-office success, there's no reason to complain.

Thanks!

^^ Yashraj has approached Katrina as the main lead opp. SRK? Thanx for sharing, didn't know that. SInce she's hot property at the mo, they must've wanted Kat. Personally speaking, I can't really imagine her and SRK sharing chemistry.....but could be wrong!😳 But I do like the choices of actresses that you've given

Originally posted by: ankita31

Thanks!

How old is Konkona?

If you ask me,I would say that Ranbir Kapoor will be best with Konkona Sen(in "wake up Sid").

I am very excited about this on screen couple..I don't know why!

and age aint got anything to do with it...

There is a rumour that Yashraj has approached Katrina opposite SRK.She is20 years younger?Why not Karishma(my first choice),Madhuri,Ash or Kajol?

Your welcome. Taran Adarsh really gets on my nerves as does sexism. Anyhow, Konkona is 28. I am really excited about the pair too. Just for the freshness factor.

That is ridiculous that they have approached Katrina. Karishma still looks remarkably young despite her age and much better than SRK (sorry to his fans but that is the truth). It would have been nice seeing them together after DTPH. But Yashraj won't listen to us for casting. They will keep casting girls half his age for the opposite lead i.e. RNBDJ.

Originally posted by: *Aaliya*

^^

Plus, if older actors can come with younger women in films, I'm sure it can happen the other way round😉 But the media tend to discriminate against 'older' women.

Thanx for the article cinnamonrani.

Absolutely, that is the point. Why the double standard? It is not just the media. That is how the industry works too. Shabana Azmi had a good point about that on KWK on how she has been offered more money for mother's roles than roles as a lead, but she refused to take them. Though sometimes actresses are forced to take such roles if they are getting nothing else. I would like to see a real younger man-older woman love story in mainstream Bollywood. But not a cop-out like in DCH where he had Dimple Kapadia die. That was a very convenient way to get rid of her Farhan so Akshaye could go and be with a girl that was of his age.
Oh and your welcome, *Aaliya*.

Originally posted by: cinnamonrani

Your welcome. Taran Adarsh really gets on my nerves as does sexism. Anyhow, Konkona is 28. I am really excited about the pair too. Just for the freshness factor.

That is ridiculous that they have approached Katrina. Karishma still looks remarkably young despite her age and much better than SRK (sorry to his fans but that is the truth). It would have been nice seeing them together after DTPH. But Yashraj won't listen to us for casting. They will keep casting girls half his age for the opposite lead i.e. RNBDJ.

How are they older women at 29 and 30>!! 😆 They are still so young, i can't belive a article was made for this 😆 What about the 40 year old men or even 63 year old men romancing young women!! CRAZZY😆

Originally posted by: *Aaliya*

I completely agree with you! Even after marriage and motherhood, Karishma is still looking stunning. And I've always wanted to see her opp. SRK after Dil to pagal hai....I'm baffled as to why they were never cast as a lead pair after that. I think they looked fantabulous together in the film! I esp, remember their scene by the river, that's my fav one from the film.

The industry is so obsessed with age, that their going for the younger actresses. I don't get this fixation!

Gosh 30/29 is not old at old but get what they saying they mean more age gap i am glad they mentioned older guys romancing younger women too ....these stars keep themselves in good shape women or men i think its fine on screen as long they do not look overally old.