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A leading daily recently described Abbas-Mustan's upcoming thriller players as a Bipasha Basu starrer. Nothing wrong with that technically, except that the male-dominated multistarrer has three heroes - Bobby Deol, Abhishek Bachchan and Neil Nitin Mukesh - plus Sonam Kapoor, billed as a GenNow heroine and at least six years younger than 32-year-old Bipasha.
Understandable, because Bipasha's red bikini splash in the first promos of Players has been the only talking point of the film so far. The fact is notable in this context that in an age that would be considered 'over the hill' for an actress even five years ago, Bipasha is still a glamour force to reckon with after all these years.
If Bipasha's latest bikini gig is proof of the fact that being a 30-plus heroine is no longer about playing the hero's bhabhi in Bollywood, others in the age group are out to turn on the heat, too.
Vidya Balan scorches the screens as eighties siren Silk Smitha in this week's release, The Dirty Picture . Rani Mukerji will be seen doing a sexy laavni dance in a forthcoming film while Chitrangada Singh, after her glamorous brush in Desi Boyz , is all set to do her first item number. Not to mention Madhuri Dixit who at 44 is all set to restart her career as a mainstream heroine in Dedh Ishqiya , the Vishal Bhardwaj-produced sequel to Ishqiya . Madhuri's rival of the early nineties, Sridevi, is shooting for her comeback film English Vinglish these days.
Despite the onslaught of new PYTs every other Friday, the audience is ready to lap up the glam acts of these senior mainstream actresses, many of whom were struggling to maintain their box-office status a few years ago.
"It speaks a lot about the changing mindset of the audience. They are ready to accept experienced actresses in bolder avatars. This is the reason why most 30- plus actresses can experiment with glamour as their counterparts in the past would rarely do," says trade analyst Taran Adarsh.
AGE was always been a hurdle for commercial heroines and A-list actresses banking on glamour would often find themselves losing out in the race. It was an almost unwritten rule that as soon as a female star touched 30, she would either get married or resort to playing bhabhi or aunty to the very heroes she romanced on screen till a few years ago.
Lately, actresses such as Kajol, Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan and Juhi Chawla did try to break the jinx. Kajol gave hits such as Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Fanaa and My Name Is Khan despite returning after marriage and motherhood. Ash delivered Sarkar Raj, Robot and Jodhaa Akbar despite pushing 30 and after marriage. Juhi Chawla took the safer route of crossover cinema with Teen Deewarein and Jhankar Beats . These however were sporadic instances. The trend seems to have changed now.
Loyal fans enjoy being surprised their favourite stars constantly. The audience has also become mature enough to think beyond age basics," says ad-filmmaker and image maker Prahlad Kakkar.
The changing trend also highlights the fact that senior actresses are not simply relying on acting talent. They are matching the twenty-somethings in terms of style-quotient and sex appeal, too.
When everyone wrote off Bipasha, she promptly lost weight and showing off her new look at an award ceremony in Toronto earlier this year. According to reports, Bips went the extra mile to acquire a toned look as the Maratha warrior Tulaja Naik in her Hollywood debut, Roland Joffe's upcoming film Singularity . It is the first look of Players, though, which has grabbed audience attention.
Rani Mukerji, who impressed as actor in No One Killed Jessica , plans to turn sexy in the Anurag Kashyap- produced Aiyya , where she will be doing a naughty laavni number called Aga bai. Choreographed by Vaibhavi Merchant, the song has cheesy lyrics and Rani will be seen gyrating in a Navvari (traditional nineyard saree) and sporting a nose ring.
Chitrangada Singh took a sabbatical after marriage to golfer Jyoti Randhawa and motherhood. When she returned, she mostly stuck to arty fare such as Yeh Saali Zindagi and Sorry Bhai. However, her sexy makeover in last week's Desi Boyz has made heads turn. She is now ready to jump onto the commercial bandwagon in a big way with Race 2 , RD and I Me Aur Main . What tops Chitrangada's glam makeover however is a sizzling item dance she is all set to do in the Akshay Kumar-Sonakshi Sinha starrer Joker.
Beating all of them, though, is Madhuri. At 44, Madhuri has been making heads turn lately by flaunting an all-new, ultra-slim look in short dresses at various events including the ongoing International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa. After marriage and two sons, she is all set to sign Dedh Ishqiya . "It's not easy to make a comeback and surprise the audience with a makeover. Amidst tough competition, Madhuri has worked hard for a young look. She has been smartly handling her image," says ace designer Manish Malhotra. Vidya Balan, the actress Madhuri replaces in the Ishqiya sequel, has meanwhile cast aside her traditional demure look to up the shock factor with this week's The Dirty Picture . Vidya, 33, put on weight to acquire a voluptuous look. The film's designer Niharika Khan confirms Vidya was given additional padding for a fuller appeal.
"Bollywood has of course aped the trend from Hollywood where an actress's marital status, number of kids and age are never deciding factors. Filmmakers in India have learnt to look beyond such factors. Experimentation with themes also lets directors accommodate new characters," says Adarsh.
Madhuri puts this changing mindset in perspective. "When I signed Aaja Nachle around five years back, I was apprehensive if the audience would accept me. Today it's not the same. Filmmakers come to me with lead roles that suits my age, and are strong and sexy at the same time," she says.
The message is clear. Bollywood as well as Bollywood buffs have finally emerged out of barriers on how they perceive the modern 30- plus woman. Senior actresses are finally getting to pack a sexy punch, and enjoying it too.
Vidya Balan
Vidya shed her demure image of the past to up the shock factor as eighties sex siren Silk Smitha in this week's release, The Dirty Picture . Over the past few months, Vidya has been diligently playing out her raunchy avatar from the film at various promotional dos. She dons 150 different costumes to get into Smitha's skin in The Dirty Picture .
Rani Mukerji
Rani had a comeback of sorts as an actress with No One Killed Jessica . Next, she tries to show she has lost none of her oomph. She will do a raunchy laavni number, Aga bai, in the Anurag Kashyap-produced Aiyya . Choreographed by Vaibhavi Merchant, the song has cheesy lyrics and Rani sports a Navvari traditional nine yard saree) with nose ring.
Chitrangada Singh
She shed her arty image with last week's Desi Boyz , where she romanced Akshay Kumar. Taking forward the glam turn, Chitrangada, golfer Jyoti Randhawa's wife and mother to a five-year-old, all set to do an item number choreographed by Farah Khan in the Akshay Kumar- Sonakshi Sinha starrer Joker .
Bipasha Basu
HER curvaceous look in a red bikini in Players has made heads turn. She is also looking toned and fit her Hollywood debut film, Singularity , where she has been cast opposite Josh Hartnett. Age has clearly not been a dampener for the Bong Bombshell who has always been celebrated for her sex appeal.
Madhuri Dixit
Looking super-svelte, Madhuri has returned from Los Angeles after marriage and motherhood and is seen sporting her new sexy look in short dresses at various dos these days, including the ongoing IFFI in Goa. She also looks all set to sign Dedh Ishqiya, the Vishal Bhardwaj-produced sequel to Ishqiya.
Understandable, because Bipasha's red bikini splash in the first promos of Players has been the only talking point of the film so far. The fact is notable in this context that in an age that would be considered 'over the hill' for an actress even five years ago, Bipasha is still a glamour force to reckon with after all these years.
If Bipasha's latest bikini gig is proof of the fact that being a 30-plus heroine is no longer about playing the hero's bhabhi in Bollywood, others in the age group are out to turn on the heat, too.
Vidya Balan scorches the screens as eighties siren Silk Smitha in this week's release, The Dirty Picture . Rani Mukerji will be seen doing a sexy laavni dance in a forthcoming film while Chitrangada Singh, after her glamorous brush in Desi Boyz , is all set to do her first item number. Not to mention Madhuri Dixit who at 44 is all set to restart her career as a mainstream heroine in Dedh Ishqiya , the Vishal Bhardwaj-produced sequel to Ishqiya . Madhuri's rival of the early nineties, Sridevi, is shooting for her comeback film English Vinglish these days.
Despite the onslaught of new PYTs every other Friday, the audience is ready to lap up the glam acts of these senior mainstream actresses, many of whom were struggling to maintain their box-office status a few years ago.
"It speaks a lot about the changing mindset of the audience. They are ready to accept experienced actresses in bolder avatars. This is the reason why most 30- plus actresses can experiment with glamour as their counterparts in the past would rarely do," says trade analyst Taran Adarsh.
AGE was always been a hurdle for commercial heroines and A-list actresses banking on glamour would often find themselves losing out in the race. It was an almost unwritten rule that as soon as a female star touched 30, she would either get married or resort to playing bhabhi or aunty to the very heroes she romanced on screen till a few years ago.
Lately, actresses such as Kajol, Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan and Juhi Chawla did try to break the jinx. Kajol gave hits such as Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Fanaa and My Name Is Khan despite returning after marriage and motherhood. Ash delivered Sarkar Raj, Robot and Jodhaa Akbar despite pushing 30 and after marriage. Juhi Chawla took the safer route of crossover cinema with Teen Deewarein and Jhankar Beats . These however were sporadic instances. The trend seems to have changed now.
Loyal fans enjoy being surprised their favourite stars constantly. The audience has also become mature enough to think beyond age basics," says ad-filmmaker and image maker Prahlad Kakkar.
The changing trend also highlights the fact that senior actresses are not simply relying on acting talent. They are matching the twenty-somethings in terms of style-quotient and sex appeal, too.
When everyone wrote off Bipasha, she promptly lost weight and showing off her new look at an award ceremony in Toronto earlier this year. According to reports, Bips went the extra mile to acquire a toned look as the Maratha warrior Tulaja Naik in her Hollywood debut, Roland Joffe's upcoming film Singularity . It is the first look of Players, though, which has grabbed audience attention.
Rani Mukerji, who impressed as actor in No One Killed Jessica , plans to turn sexy in the Anurag Kashyap- produced Aiyya , where she will be doing a naughty laavni number called Aga bai. Choreographed by Vaibhavi Merchant, the song has cheesy lyrics and Rani will be seen gyrating in a Navvari (traditional nineyard saree) and sporting a nose ring.
Chitrangada Singh took a sabbatical after marriage to golfer Jyoti Randhawa and motherhood. When she returned, she mostly stuck to arty fare such as Yeh Saali Zindagi and Sorry Bhai. However, her sexy makeover in last week's Desi Boyz has made heads turn. She is now ready to jump onto the commercial bandwagon in a big way with Race 2 , RD and I Me Aur Main . What tops Chitrangada's glam makeover however is a sizzling item dance she is all set to do in the Akshay Kumar-Sonakshi Sinha starrer Joker.
Beating all of them, though, is Madhuri. At 44, Madhuri has been making heads turn lately by flaunting an all-new, ultra-slim look in short dresses at various events including the ongoing International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa. After marriage and two sons, she is all set to sign Dedh Ishqiya . "It's not easy to make a comeback and surprise the audience with a makeover. Amidst tough competition, Madhuri has worked hard for a young look. She has been smartly handling her image," says ace designer Manish Malhotra. Vidya Balan, the actress Madhuri replaces in the Ishqiya sequel, has meanwhile cast aside her traditional demure look to up the shock factor with this week's The Dirty Picture . Vidya, 33, put on weight to acquire a voluptuous look. The film's designer Niharika Khan confirms Vidya was given additional padding for a fuller appeal.
"Bollywood has of course aped the trend from Hollywood where an actress's marital status, number of kids and age are never deciding factors. Filmmakers in India have learnt to look beyond such factors. Experimentation with themes also lets directors accommodate new characters," says Adarsh.
Madhuri puts this changing mindset in perspective. "When I signed Aaja Nachle around five years back, I was apprehensive if the audience would accept me. Today it's not the same. Filmmakers come to me with lead roles that suits my age, and are strong and sexy at the same time," she says.
The message is clear. Bollywood as well as Bollywood buffs have finally emerged out of barriers on how they perceive the modern 30- plus woman. Senior actresses are finally getting to pack a sexy punch, and enjoying it too.
Vidya Balan
Vidya shed her demure image of the past to up the shock factor as eighties sex siren Silk Smitha in this week's release, The Dirty Picture . Over the past few months, Vidya has been diligently playing out her raunchy avatar from the film at various promotional dos. She dons 150 different costumes to get into Smitha's skin in The Dirty Picture .
Rani Mukerji
Rani had a comeback of sorts as an actress with No One Killed Jessica . Next, she tries to show she has lost none of her oomph. She will do a raunchy laavni number, Aga bai, in the Anurag Kashyap-produced Aiyya . Choreographed by Vaibhavi Merchant, the song has cheesy lyrics and Rani sports a Navvari traditional nine yard saree) with nose ring.
Chitrangada Singh
She shed her arty image with last week's Desi Boyz , where she romanced Akshay Kumar. Taking forward the glam turn, Chitrangada, golfer Jyoti Randhawa's wife and mother to a five-year-old, all set to do an item number choreographed by Farah Khan in the Akshay Kumar- Sonakshi Sinha starrer Joker .
Bipasha Basu
HER curvaceous look in a red bikini in Players has made heads turn. She is also looking toned and fit her Hollywood debut film, Singularity , where she has been cast opposite Josh Hartnett. Age has clearly not been a dampener for the Bong Bombshell who has always been celebrated for her sex appeal.
Madhuri Dixit
Looking super-svelte, Madhuri has returned from Los Angeles after marriage and motherhood and is seen sporting her new sexy look in short dresses at various dos these days, including the ongoing IFFI in Goa. She also looks all set to sign Dedh Ishqiya, the Vishal Bhardwaj-produced sequel to Ishqiya.
https://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/bollywood-actresses-30-is-the-new-20/1/162670.html
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