No age bar in Bollywood

Shah Rukh Khan, 42, finds it hard to digest that his heroine, Deepika Padukone, who towered over him in Om Shanti Om, is a mere 21.

I’m double her age, but if I were to kiss her, I’d probably reach her stomach,” SRK joked on a television show, when asked about the age gap between them. And down south, Shriya Saran, 25, sizzled on the streets of France with a 58-year-old Rajnikanth in Sivaji. Earlier in the year, Amitabh Bachchan romanced a 34-year-old Tabu In Cheeni Kum and an even younger Jiah Khan in Nishabd — but in these cases, the stories themselves were May-December romances.

But with most of the reigning heroes in their 40s and a new crop of very young lead actresses arriving on the scene, pairings across age divides are a trend these days. “Older heroes have always romanced younger starlets in our films, but it has become more common now,” says Ashwin Naidu, assistant director of Cheeni Kum. “Stars like MGR, Shivaji and and N T Ramarao have always run around trees with girls half their age. And as long as an artiste is saleable, age doesn’t make a difference,” he says. Ashwin adds that the Indian hero never grows old. “Even if he’s 50 or 60, the audience will still accept him playing a 25-year-old college-goer. But I’m not sure if the same applies to heroines,” he says.

Filmmaker Indrajit Lankesh too had a 19-year-old Deepika romancing a 30-plus Upendra, in Aishwarya. “But I made Uppi look much younger by giving him a makeover and he looked a convincing 25. He played an ad executive in the film, so the look suited him — he had a goatee, ear stud and some really cool wristbands and chains. The pairing was a big hit,” says Indrajit. He agrees though that when a 40-year-old hero plays a college-goer, it does look silly. “But big stars like SRK, Rajnikant and Chiranjeevi get away with it because of mass appeal,” says the filmmaker.

“I don’t think it’s a big deal if you’re paired opposite a hero who’s older to you, because it’s all make believe anyway,” says Sivaji girl Shriya. “People shouldn’t confuse reel-life with real; it’s not like I’m romancing a 50-plus man off-screen,” she laughs. “Anyway, when I was doing Sivaji, I never felt awkward playing the love interest of Rajni sir. In fact, I felt lucky because I was getting to learn so much from him; his age was not a concern,” she adds.

Actress Priyanka Upendra, who debuted in Kannada in Kotigobba with a much older Vishnuvardhan, says “But I don’t think the age gap is an issue because most established stars are over 40,” she says. “Also, they don’t look their age because they’re fit and well-maintained. And fans who treat their heroes like gods will accept anything they do. Kotigobba ran for 100 days. Besides, I think fans might actually like to see their heroes romancing a younger heroine.”

Madhu Daihtota, TNN