It has been an uphill struggle for gender equality in Bollywood for the longest time. The glamorous side of Bollywood often hides the shocking age between the lead stars. In the film industry, male leads are frequently paired with much younger actresses. While this is not something new in Bollywood, it remains outrageous.
Scroll down for films that feature really big age differences between the romantic leads.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui & Avneet Kaur
Age Gap: 28 Years
Kangana Ranaut turned film producer with Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Avneet Kaur starrer Tiku Weds Sheru. While the film made a lot of buzz with its quirky trailer, I was shocked after looking at the age gap between the two. Nawaz, who is 49, is paired against a 21-year-old Avneet.
Akshay Kumar & Manushi Chhillar
Age Gap: 29 Years
Akshay Kumar and Manushi Chhillar featured as romantic leads in Samrat Prithviraj. The film was based on the life of Prithviraj Chauhan, a Rajput king. At the time Akshay was 54 and Manushi was 25.
Salman Khan & Disha Patani
Age Gap: 27 Years
Salman and Disha featured together in the action drama film Radhe in 2021. It was a little strange to see a 55 years old Salman romancing Disha who was 28.
Ajay Devgn & Sayyeshaa Saigal
Age Gap: 28 Years
The 2016 film Shivaay featured Ajay Devgn paired opposite debutante actress Sayyeshaa. At the time the actor was 47 years old and Sayyeshaa was 19.
Anil Kapoor & Kareena Kapoor Khan
Age Gap: 24 years
It is hard to imagine Anil Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor being paired opposite each other but that wasn’t always the case. The two played romantic leads in 2005 Bewafaa. A 49-year-old Anil romanced 25-year-old Bebo.
Amitabh Bachchan & Shefali Shah
Age Gap: 30 Years
Waqt: The Race Against Time is another example of the bizarre age difference between male and female stars. It featured Amitabh Bachchan, who was 63 at the time, with a 33-year-old Shefali Shah.
Salman Khan & Sonakshi Sinha
Age Gap: 22 Years
Dabangg marked the debut of a 22-year-old Sonakshi. She was paired with Salman Khan who was 44 years old at the time. While the film was a super hit, this age gap is shocking, to say the least.
Akshay Kumar & Kiara Advani
Age Gap: 25 Years
Akshay Kumar and Kiara Advani were paired opposite Kiara Advani in Laxmii in 2020. The Khiladi star was 53 at the time and Kiara was 28.
It is 2023, so can we retire from this sexist notion of casting just younger girls with actors twice their age?
Featured Image: Instagram
