Lately there has been a lot of debate around the age-gap between two actors romancing onscreen in a film. We witnessed the same when 20-year-old Sara Arjun was cast opposite Ranveer Singh, 40, in Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar. Or when Rashmika Mandanna, 29, played the wife of Salman Khan, 60, in Sikandar. In a recent interview, while promoting his next film, Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar, 58, shared his views on the same. Up next, he will be seen opposite 32-year-old Wamiqa Gabbi in the much-awaited Priyadarshan horror comedy Bhooth Bangla.
In a chat with News 18, sharing his thoughts on age-gap onscreen love stories, Akshay Kumar said, “Toh kya hai? Humne pehle dekha nahi hai kya kabhi? It happens in Hollywood as well. Sometimes, it’s the requirement of the script. (In real life too), so many people get married to partners older or younger than them.” Talking about his co-star Wamiqa Gabbi, Akshay shared, “I first met Wamiqa when we were shooting for Bhooth Bangla. She works very differently. She keeps reading her scenes and rehearsing for them. She gets very serious. Tabu is more serious than her. Vidya, who I’m working with in Anees Bazmee ji’s film, on the other hand, believes in being a free actor.”
Sharing his views on the age-gap debate, filmmaker Priyadarshan also shared, “There’s something that people like MGR and NTR used to say… that there’s a big difference between chronological age and screen age. An actor’s screen age may not be his real age. but people accept you for your screen age too. I don’t see any issue there. When I shoot, I may look at a pair and feel like it isn’t the right pair (and that may have nothing to do with their age gap). When I shoot with Akshay or Tabu, I never feel (an issue) looking at them. And once audiences watch the film, I notice that they don’t feel that issue either. That’s because of their characters and their screen age.”
Also starring Paresh Rawal, Rajpal Yadav, Tabu and the late Asrani, Bhooth Bangla is set to arrive in theatres on April 10. The film marks Akshay and Priyadarshan’s reunion 14 years after their last collaboration, Khatta Meetha (2010). Akshay and Priyadarshan’s upcoming film, which marks their second horror comedy together, also has a special connection to their first horror comedy film Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007) — both the films have been shot at the Chomu Palace in Jaipur.
