Mumbai: Older actors are still being roped in as male leads, but ageing actresses rarely get to play heroine in films.
Hence, it’s very common to see veteran actors, who are 60 years old or thereabouts, romancing younger actresses in the film industry now.
After Salman and Rashmika in ‘Sikandar’, Kamal Haasan and Trisha in ‘Thug Life’, the latest pairing with a wide age gap is that of Aamir Khan and Genelia Deshmukh in ‘Sitaare Zameen Par.’
As netizens shared that Aamir’s (60) pairing with Genelia (37) reminded them of his nephew Imran Khan’s cute chemistry with the latter in the 2008 movie ‘Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na’, the Bollywood veteran actor joked that Imran is almost his age now.
Opening up on his 23-year age difference with Genelia during a conversation with the Indian Express, Aamir said, “Ya, I know. But that was a long time ago. And ab Imran bhi kafi meri age ka ho gaya hai (laughs). That thought did come to me, but in the film, we’re both playing characters in the age group of early 40s. She’s around that age. I’m 60, but in today’s day and age, we have the advantage of VFX. Earlier, if I played an 18-year-old, I had to rely on prosthetic.”
Giving the example of Anil Kapoor, who played the role of a man 40 years older than his actual age at that time in ‘Eeshwar’, Aamir concluded, “So, age is not a barrier for actors anymore.”
‘Sitaare Zameen Par’ had earlier made headlines for being a ‘frame-to-frame copy’ of the Spanish film ‘Champions.’
Read more: Aamir Khan Trolled As Fans Find Out ‘Sitaare Zameen Par’ Is A Copy Of ‘Champions’
Defending his decision of making another remake after the failure of ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’, Aamir, who was a guest on Raj Shamani’s podcast explained, “Laal Singh (Chaddha) ke baad, mujhe bohot logo ne bola ki aap phir remake bana rahe ho. Laal Singh (Chaddha) mein bohot aapko trolling hui thi, ki aapne remake banayi, remake banayi. Lekin kya hai, main thoda pagal type ka aadmi hun, practical cheezein mujhe samajh mein nahi aati. Mujhe koi problem nahi hai remake karne mein. Mujhe nahi lagta hai meri creativity kum ho rahi hai, at all. Kyunki main apne liye toh naya kaam kar raha hun. Kisi aur ne yeh kahani banayi hai, ab main isko apna nazariya de raha hun. (Many asked me why am I making a remake after the failure of ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’. I was brutally trolled after ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’. But I am a little crazy. I don’t understand practical things. I don’t have a problem in making remakes because I am doing it for the first time. Someone has already made a film on this subject, now I will do it differently.”
‘Sitaare Zameen Par’, which also features Darsheel Safary, will be released in theatres on June 20.