Forty, but still a heartthrob
27 Aug 2007, 0000 hrs IST,Rajat Ghai,TNN
Wanted Male superstars over 35 only
In mainstream Hindi movies, life for a male superstar often begins after 35. Think Shahrukh Khan (42) in Om Shanti Om (he's paired with Deepika Padukone, all of 19), Akshay Kumar, 40, romancing Vidya Balan, 27, in Heyy Baby and Deepika in Made in China , Ajay Devgan, 39, matching steps with 20-something Nisha Kothari in RGV Ki Aag or Shamita Shetty in Cash ,
Himesh Reshammiya, 37, wooing Hannsikaa, 16, in Aap Ka Surroor , Aamir Khan, 42, working with Tamil superstar Aisin, 21, in Kajri , Salman Khan, 42, serenading 19 year-old Ayesha Takia in Wanted Dead Or Alive or Priyanka Chopra, 24, in Salaam-e-Ishq , the list goes on.
The audience seems to be perfectly amenable when Sanjay Dutt, 48, shares screen time with a Lara Dutta, or a Vidya Balan, in their late 20s, have no problems seeing Anil Kapoor, 47, with Sameera Reddy (in her 20s) or even Rajnikanth, 58, with Shriya Sharan, 24.
The minute Bollywood's actresses touch the big T, most of them are considered well past their prime. Tinsel dream girls from Madhuri Dixit to Juhi Chawla or a Sridevi can at best hope to have one specially scripted film written for them, but playing leading lady to someone like SRK or Aamir, wouldn't be an everyday affair. Reel-ly.
Not that you'd expect anything different from urban Indians anyway. "This is a patriarchal society," says Dr Abhilasha Kumari, professor and research scholar, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. She adds, "Looks are important for women. As women grow older they look less radiant and possibly that's why their market-value as stars reduce."
Sociologist Shiv Vishvanathan puts it even more bluntly: "India is a status-conscious society so what else can be expected?"
Compare this with Hollywood and European cinema. Forty-year olds Salma Hayek, Nicole Kidman and Halle Berry, were recently polled as 'the sexiest women in Hollywood'. Kumari though doesn't believe in the 'West-is-better' hypothesis.
Yes, they are more broad-minded. But not entirely, she says. The moot question: Will older women ever find acceptance and a wider range of roles in mainstream Bollywood? "Perceptions are changing. Today, we have more roles for older people (including women). Take Shabana Azmi. Though she spends more time in activism, whenever she does act, it is always different," says filmmaker Sudhir Mishra.
Vishvanathan seconds the view, "Amitabh Bachchan has made all the difference; with movies such as Baghban and Cheeni Kum, he has made a powerful statement that old people can play major roles. There is more acceptance for men after 50. But where women are concerned it will still take time." Trade analyst Komal Nahta agrees too, "The successful comebacks of Madhuri Dixit, Juhi Chawla and Kajol are definite signs that attitudes are changing."
Actress Hannsikaa is sceptical though: "I don't think society would accept them in the future. When it comes to accepting a heroine in her 30s, I think the audience usually has a mental block. It's not easy at all."
Mishra though feels, "If your film is good, you don't need to pay attention to how old your protagonist is. The script is all that matters."
But unless Bollywood's dream merchants take a risk and cast a heroine in her late 30s in the female lead, you'll have to get used to seeing more May-December romances in 35 mm — of the male order that is.
SOURCE: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India_Buzz/Forty_but_stil l_a_heartthrob/articleshow/2312256.cms
Edited by jani-yeh - 18 years ago
