Irony. Hindi films are full of it. Whether it is good or bad is arguable. But this irony factor sure makes Hindi films distinct or hatke, like a Hindi cinema insider would say.
Age is an interesting paradox in Hindi films. It is a mere number which doesn't faze our actors and filmmakers. It doesn't matter how old you are. What matters is how young your heart is. Hogwash. As long as you sell at the box office, you can be 35 or 45 and still attend college.
But that is not always true. Some actors do not hesitate from sporting grey hair and wrinkles. Though the ratio of those who dare to experiment is much less than those who stick to tried and tested stereotypes.
Much hue and cry was made over Ajay Devgan's casting in Yuva as a college student. Many critics felt he doesn't suit the part. Well, it so happened that a 34-year old Devgan played a 24-year-old freedom fighter in The Legend Of Bhagat Singh, which won him his second National Award for Best Actor (his first was for Zakhm).
I, for one, do not think the actor was miscast. He is a PhD student in the film, remember? I know many who are in their mid-thirties and pursuing higher studies.
Strangely, no one seems to have a problem with visibly older actors attending college without explanation. There are quite a few examples. Govinda dances to Meri pant bhi sexy on a college campus in Dulaara. Shah Rukh Khan is St Xavier's College's cool dude in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Salman Khan celebrates the college Rose Day function with the enthusiasm of a sophomore in Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya. Sanjay Dutt and Sunny Deol study at a prestigious college in London in Kshatriya. That they are never shown attending college is another thing.
Not too long ago, Dutt decided to learn medicine in Munnabhai MBBS. That is acceptable, of course. He is a goonda in the movie. Questioning that would not be appropriate now, would it?
Point is: all these actors were well past their college-going years when they did these roles.
Shahid Kapur, on the other hand, looks perfect as the college kid. Is that good? Apparently not. Because the trade know-alls look at it as a handicap. His range (in terms of roles) is limited because he looks too young to play anything else. He is blissfully unaware that, later, the same know-alls will crucify him for playing the campus icon to the hilt.
Not everyone is Anupam Kher. The man played a 65-year-old retired schoolteacher in his first film, Saaransh. He was 28. What does he get in return? The tag of character artist. Because to be classified a 'hero', you need a college I-card.
You can also be an undercover army officer reluctantly parading as a student. Like in Main Hoon Na. SRK plays a 30-plus army officer who goes back to a school full of teenagers. He is understandably uncomfortable. He argues with his superior (Kabir Bedi) saying he would be more convincing as a teacher.
Other than Kher, there is Madhuri Dixit who was anything but glamorous in Sangeet, where she played a middle-aged mother as well as her daughter. Both her physical appearance and performance matched the maturity required in the elderly role.
The same cannot be said about Aishwarya Rai in Kuch Naa Kaho. As a single mom of a seven-year-old, Ash didn't look or feel the part. She lacked the compassion and warmth -- two ingredients of being a 'super mom', which is what she calls herself in the movie.
Insecurity is a dangerous emotion. Actresses are intimately acquainted with it, since they are believed to have a shelf life in the industry. The minute an established heroine feels she is losing her appeal to the younger lot, she goes in for an image change.
This mindset resulted in the extremely talented Sridevi and Dixit resorting to mini-skirted avatars in Army and Raja to suggest I've-still-got-what-it -takes. A pity, considering the two are tremendous performers.
Some actors refuse to age. How else do you explain the much older Feroz Khan calling the much younger Mukesh Khanna 'dad' in Yalgaar?
Likewise, Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan, too, went through an awkwardly miscast phase.
Before graduating to sign roles that suited his age, Dilip Kumar embarassed himself dancing around trees with heroines half his age in films like Gopi (Saira Banu) and Bairaag (Saira, Leena Chandravarkar).
Bachchan has his own ugly past. A 45-plus Big B trying to pass off as super hero in Toofan, Jaadugar and Ajooba was disastrous. Take a look at him now. He plays his age with such dignity and grace. Scripts are now designed keeping his 60- plus image in mind. And he is still the hero.
Ashok Kumar had the ideal changeover. He shifted smoothly from hero to big brother to father to grandfather characters.
With the backing of a compelling script and substantial execution; actors can play their age and still be popular as heroes. Because heroism is not about being young. It is about doing the right thing. And the right thing for Hindi cinema right now is to 'Grow up'.
Which actor/actress do you think has gracefully accepted his/her age?
