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Not so long ago, a married female actor in Hindi cinema, irrespective of age or maturity, would get only to play the roles of a sister or mother. More often than not, she might be mum or mum-in-law on screen to her male co-star that romanced her just a few years back. Age was more than a number in Hindi cinema; it was retirement or relegation.
So when a 40-plus Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, gorgeous in a mature, fuller way, made a splash in Karan Johar’s Ae Dil Hain Mushkil as a divorcee looking for a torrid relationship with younger man Ranbir Kapoor, it indicated a paradigm shift for mainstream cinema. Not that her part was seminal or the film brilliant; nonetheless it was a major glossy big-ticket festival release. Ash was the wow factor, looking fantastic in every frame. Casting her in this part and the audience’s reaction to her showed that Hindi films were ready to cast older actors in key roles.
Hindi cinema appears to have evolved beyond the looks-centric template for heroines and that’s a truly refreshing change as plots led and driven by women characters make for appealing dramas and universal stories.
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil was released in 2016, a year after the expensive multi-starrer Dil Dhadakne Do . That one rode on the shoulders of the father-mother duo of Anil Kapoor and Shefali Shah, with Ranveer Singh, Priyanka Chopra, Farhan Akhtar and Anushka Sharma playing key roles. That a fifty-plus — albeit ambitious and super-rich — couple formed the core of a big investment film reflected that filmmakers and producers were willing to take a chance on senior actors helming a project. This might not seem like a big deal for regional cinema — in Tamil cinema, for example, leading men are often age-agnostic (take Robot , or I or Kamal Haasan–starrers in the last decade). But the change in Hindi cinema is important as it reflects an evolution in the approach to scripting and storytelling. Films that revolve around older characters are being made frequently, and are finding a steady audience.
This year, Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor worked together in 102 Not Out ; a film by Umesh Shukla that tackles neglect of old parents, a social problem germane to India today, in a commercially palatable template. Propped up by two stellar sexagenarian performers, this low-budget flick drew in over ₹75 crore and stayed in theatres for a month. Their appeal as performers made the film popular with family audiences, including young people. Kapoor is also helming Mulk , a soon-to-release hard-hitting film by Anubhav Sinha about a Muslim father who has to face consequences, judgment and make a difficult choice when his dead son turns out to an ISIS sympathiser. While Taapsee Pannu, a promising young actor, plays a supporting role as lawyer, this film banks on Rishi Kapoor’s charisma and performance to do well. Kapoor plays his age. Compare this to the late Yash Chopra’s Veer Zaara (2004) where Shah Rukh Khan had to portray an aged die-hard romantic. His make-up, though, involved a generous sprinkling of baby powder on the hair while the face, like his co-star Preity Zinta’s, remained wrinkle-free. An established filmmaker like Chopra, who would often surprise audiences by taking on a story ahead of its time, paid perfunctory attention to the verisimilitude of age. Old was not cool on celluloid then.
Bollywood: Casting 50 year old actor that falls in love with 20 year old actress
— #RenewTimeless (@wowstiless) July 15, 2018
Amitabh Bachchan, at 75, plays and acts his age as the lead in Sujoy Ghosh’s Badla with Taapsee Pannu and co-stars in the big-ticket Thugs of Hindostan with Aamir Khan. He also has Brahmastra with Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, a superhero fantasy in the making by Dharma Productions. Anil Kapoor, at 61, is back to playing leading man with panache. This time, he isn’t much bothered with looking young and fit as has been a lifelong obsession with the actor. He plays Fanney Khan, a dramedy with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Rajkummar Rao. Rao and Kapoor re-unite for Ek Ladki Ko Dekha later this year, with Sonam Kapoor co-starring in this one. Anupam Kher (63) plays former PM Manmohan Singh in the Accidental Prime Minister . 2018 is seeing veteran stars feature in new releases that ride on strong stories and concrete plots that go beyond the formulaic. So far, their films have done well and the line-up in the year ahead continues to hold promise.
This change in cinematic development is also visible for senior female actors. Kajol had a relatively unimpressive return to the mainstream with the big-budget debacle Dilwale (2015); so she has changed track and will now appear in Helicopter Eela (2018), a drama where she plays a singer and single mother. There’s Madhuri Dixit, having made a winning Marathi film Bucket List (2018) and now set to star in Kalank (2018) with Sanjay Dutt, Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt and Sonakshi Sinha. Hindi cinema appears to have evolved beyond the looks-centric template for heroines and that’s a truly refreshing change as plots led and driven by women characters make for appealing dramas and universal stories.
This year has so far indicated that breaking the norm is what pays dividends in Hindi films, with six ₹100-crore-plus hits that veer away from formulaic comedies, action films and family dramas. The change is here to stay. With Saif Ali Khan (47) finding recognition and making an impact with netflix web series Sacred Games , the space for original streamed content featuring big-ticket stars has opened up. R. Madhavan (48) also made a similar move earlier in the year with Breathe . With more avenues for better performance, and more relevant and relatable stories making it to the Hindi film circuit, there is room for actors to grow and do better as they age. When veteran actors and senior stars find space to put out their best performance on screen, films will become inclusive and resonate with a much larger audience, which is very much the need of the hour for Hindi cinema today.
