During an interview, Neena was asked to throw some light on what she thought about how a male actor shies away from romancing an older female lead even today. The actress responded that if Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan could romance a female actor half their age on the big screen then why can’t she star opposite such actors.
“…meri badi iccha hai ke woh daur aa jaye jahan main Hrithik Roshan ke against kaam karu. Against nahi opposite. But why can’t I be opposite Shah Rukh Khan or Hrithik Roshan?” Neena asked while pointing to the current trend of sexism in Bollywood. “I’m not saying Ranbir Kapoor, Main itni bi bewakoof nahi hu. Lekin, they work with actresses who are like 20-25 years younger than them as heroines.”
However, when she was asked why she can’t romance Ranbir, the actress laughingly replied she can, but Indians will take time to adjust to these changes. Further emphasising on her point, the 62-year-old said the Hollywood industry doesn’t discriminate on this aspect and has more gender equality than the Indian film industry.
I don't think age should be an issue at all unless minors are involved offcourse. As long the couple looks good opposite each other, its fine. The thing is, how many actresses do we know that are in their 50s and late 40s that are seriously acting in commercial films or trying to break that stereotype? Nobody is even trying. Other than maybe Tabu, actresses like Madhuri, Raveena, Kajol, Aishwariya, Priety, Juhi, Karishma, Rani, Sonali, etc. who are similar in age to the Khans, Akshay, Hrithik, etc. all have taken hiatus's, got busy in domestic life, don't act anymore, etc. None of them are complaining because it seems like it isn't the ambition or priority for them anymore. The only person I can maybe see try to stay relevant even at that age is maybe Kareena (when the time comes). I am all for womens rights. But how many women in the same age group as Khans, Akshay, Hrithik have worked towards maintaining their stardom over the years? I get that opportunities must be made which is part of the problem but if they disappear and take long breaks, people forget and move on.