Akshay Kumar and the ever-increasing age gap with his female co-stars, in numbers

When it comes to double standards for women in showbiz, Indian film industry is not far behind. Here, women actors come with a shelf life while male actors seem to be growing younger by the day. And the second is that our male actors are unlikely to make such a public appeal.

There is a reason no one batted an eyelid when a 28-year-old Disha Patani was cast opposite a 55-year-old Salman Khan, and it is as normal today for a 25-year-old Manushi Chillar to romance 54-year-old Akshay Kumar in Yash Raj Films’ Samrat Prithviraj.

In fact, ageism in the Indian film industry has been normalised to the level that it is fodder for jokes. Comedian-actor Kapil Sharma poked fun at Akshay Kumar for the age difference between him and his opposite stars when he went on The Kapil Sharma Show to promote Samrat Prithviraj.

A look at Kumar’s 30 years in the Hindi film industry gives the most obvious example of casual sexism in Bollywood.

Kapil reflected at how Kumar played Madhuri Dixit and Ayesha Jhulka’s love interest on screen when the comedian was in school. He added Akshay was romancing Bipasha Basu and Katrina Kaif when Kapil was in college. Mentioning his latest films where he starred opposite Kriti Sanon, Kiara Advani and Manushi, Kapil said, “Hum to bas inki heroines ke interview karne ke liye paida huye hain (I was born to just interview his heroines).”

Akshay kumar will be romancing Manushi Chillar in Smrat Prithviraj. (Photo: Akshay Kumar/Instagram)

A look at Kumar’s 30 years in the Hindi film industry reveals casual sexism that exists in Bollywood. With each year, Kumar gets older and the female co-stars younger. Though the age gap between Kumar and the actresses he romanced stayed below 10 years in the first decade of his acting career. But since 2000, it has been widening further. The average age of the actresses who have worked with Kumar in his three-decades-long career is 24.69 years.

The only time Akshay Kumar starred alongside actresses of his age was in 1997.

The first time when the age gap between Akshay Kumar and his female co-star crossed 20 years was in the 2011 film Patiala House.

Akshay Kumar is 29 years older than his Samrat Prithviraj co-star Manushi Chillar.

Not just this, actor Shefali Shah played Akshay Kumar’s mother in Waqt when she was 32, and he was 37. Actor Seema Biswas played his mother in Atrangi Re when he was 54 and she was 57.

Shefali Shah, in an interview with indianexpress.com, had said that after a certain age, “filmmakers don’t know what to do with you once you are a mother. They’ll probably get you to play the neighbourhood aunty.” She added, “I played age very early. I played Akshay Kumar’s mother when I was around 28. I got Hasratein when I was 20 and played a 30-35-year-old in it. After a point, I decided if I’m not getting the work that really drives me crazy, I will sit at home.”

Shefali Shah played Akshay Kumar’s mother and Amitabh Bachchan’s wife in Waqt (2005).

But, in an industry, which thrives on its older male actors like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Ajay Devgn, and Akshay Kumar, would have it really made a difference if a talent like her would have chosen to quit? Not that this issue is limited to Bollywood, south cinema is equally guilty.

The first time when the age-gap between Kumar and his female co-star crossed 20 years was in the 2011 film Patiala House. He was 44 then, and Anushka Sharma, who played the female lead in the film was 23. At the age of 45, Kumar was paired opposite a 25-year-old Sonakshi Sinha in Rowdy Rathore. He sang romantic songs with Amy Jackson when she was 25 years younger to him during the 2015 film Singh Is Bliing. And, now he is 29 years older than Manushi Chillar, with whom he is cast in Samrat Prithviraj.

Akshay Kumar and Anushka Sharma in a still from Patiala House. (Photo: YouTube screengrab)

The only time Kumar starred alongside actresses of his age was in 1997. He romanced Juhi Chawla (Mr and Mrs Khiladi) and Madhuri Dixit (Dil To Pagal Hai) who were both of his age (30).

However, this trend of older actors being paired opposite younger actresses is not new. It has been there for decades. But now, with a boom in the OTT platforms, female actors are getting age-appropriate and better-written characters for themselves. How long will Bollywood take to learn a lesson or two in storytelling and age-appropriate representation remains to be seen.