The buzz surrounding the 20-year age gap between Ranveer Singh and his romantic lead Sara Arjun in the upcoming film Dhurandhar has reignited a long-standing conversation about on-screen pairings in Indian cinema. While some viewers have raised eyebrows at the casting, veteran actresses from both Hindi and Telugu film industries believe the issue is being blown out of proportion.
Hema Malini, Asha Parekh, Jaya Prada defend age-gap casting in Bollywood; says, “Chemistry mattered more than age”
They argue that such age disparities are nothing new — and have, in fact, been an integral part of the industry’s history for decades.
“It’s all acting, no?” — Jaya Prada
Reflecting on her own experience, veteran star Jaya Prada points out that South Indian cinema has a longstanding tradition of age-gap pairings. “The great N. T. Rama Rao and I did several films together in Telugu, and he was almost 40 years older than me,” she recalls. “We never felt the age difference. One doesn’t think about these things on set. I would go in, do my scenes, and return home. It’s the director’s job to make sure the actors look well-matched on screen.”
Hema Malini: “We never thought about chemistry or age”
Bollywood’s eternal Dream Girl, Hema Malini, began her career at the age of 20 with Sapnon Ka Saudagar, opposite the much older Raj Kapoor. “He was 44 at the time, and we never thought about these things. Back then, yeh sab baatein — chemistry and all that — didn’t exist,” she says. “I worked with all three Kapoor brothers — Raj, then Shashi in Jahan Pyar Miley, and Shammi in Andaz. The age difference was never uncomfortable.”
Asha Parekh: “The heroine sets the boundary”
Legendary actress Asha Parekh shares a similar sentiment. “My first hero, Shammi Kapoor, was much older than me. I used to call him ‘Shammi Chacha,’” she laughs. “It’s up to the heroine to draw a line between being friendly and over-friendly. If she’s clear about that, the age difference is irrelevant.”
Also Read: Dhurandhar sparks debate over 20-year age gap between Ranveer Singh and Sara Arjun
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