A hero is only as old as the heroine he romances on screen. That’s the reason why you have 61-year old Rajnikant romancing a 36-year-old Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in ‘Robot’ or a 45-year-old Salman Khan romancing a 22-year-old Sonakshi in ‘Dabangg’.
Now there is a reversal of roles. “Whether it is Katrina Kaif, Kareena Kapoor, Deepika Padukone or Priyanka Chopra, they all want to romance Imran Khan, Shahid Kapoor or Ranbir Kapoor, the generation after the Khans, because it helps cut their screen ages,” says a leading filmmaker.
So in Shakun Batra’s ‘Short-Term Shaadi’, Bebo will woo Imran; in Abbas Ali’s ‘Mere Brother Ki Dulhan’, Kat will serenade him; and, in Danish Aslam’s ‘Break Ke Bad’, Deepika is steaming it up with the light-eyed actor. Priyanka is also scheduled to do a photo shoot with Imran to see how they make screen magic. But Deepika is one up on all of them. The actress, who is just 24, is making a conscious effort to alternately romance a 42-year-old Akshay Kumar and a 26-year-old Imran, because she doesn’t want to be classified as being older than she is.
Hollywood screen icon Demi Moore, who is married to the much younger Ashton Kutcher, told a lifestyle magazine that she is indeed a Puma (an older woman who romances a younger man). And our very own Bollywood leading ladies have no compunctions of being Cougars or Pumas either. Bebo says, “I’m equally at ease romancing SRK, Aamir, Saif, Salman or Imran as the case may be. I’m not necessarily looking to romance someone younger than me on screen. But if there is a great film offer, I’m going to grab it. Honestly, the hero’s age is the last thing I think of when I accept a film. It has to be a good script and a great role.”
B-town actresses to woo younger heroes
