Isha Koppikar, who actively worked in the Hindi film industry during the 2000s, recently opened up about romancing older actors. She said that she was “uncomfortable.” In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, the actress spoke about her experiences while working with senior actors like Suniel Shetty and Govinda in movies such as Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat and Aamdani Atthanni Kharcha Rupaiya.
Isha said, “You do feel uncomfortable when you work with someone 30 or 20 years older than you. I felt uncomfortable when I was working with elderly heroes. You don’t get the feeling like you are hugging your partner or lover, you feel like you are hugging your father. I used to feel that. I was new, I thought this was the norm.”
She added, “You are an actor; you focus on your part and forget they are elderly. You wouldn’t feel cringe with everyone, some of them had maintained themselves very well and wouldn’t look their age, but some obviously had that air and demeanor of a senior, due to age and experience in the industry.”
Isha Koppikar also highlighted the prevalent issue of age gaps between lead actors in Bollywood, lamenting how actresses over 35 often find themselves playing mothers to heroes who are 50, still paired romantically with actresses half their age.
“They should understand what they look and accordingly play the part. I hope this changes, because the audience is not foolish. I have seen them in theatres saying, ‘Ye kitna buddha lag raha hai, ghar pe baith; apni beti ki umar ki ladki saath romance kar raha hai.’ They say this bluntly, which is the truth. Because of social media, everyone knows this,” she concluded.
