Age factor in Bollywood: Young blood dethroned 30+ Actresses

It’s no secret that directors and producers are constantly on the lookout for younger, hipper and sexier actresses. Actors on the other hand don’t really have a shelf life and mature into their movie careers like fine wine, take Amitabh Bachchan, for instance. So, are older actresses being dethroned even as younger actresses bring their youthful charm and energy to the screen?

There’s no disputing that 35-year-old Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan is one of the more sought after faces in the industry. But in the recent past, she has been steadily losing film offers, commercial deals and even Internet hits to younger women like Katrina Kaif and Kareena. Where Katrina and Kareena are given fun and sexy roles to play, Ash is given period pieces and Charater roles to play.

Katrina’s girlish charm and fresh looks appeal to a broader age-group, and it’s evident that the preference for young faces is also based on people’s preferences. In fact, the 25-year-old Katrina recently displaced the 30 something Sushmita Sen in a Pantene commercial deal; and of course, became the face of Barbie instead of Ash. And up and coming star Deepika Padukone scored the BSNL ad from 34-year-old Preity Zinta. In this onslaught from the younger beauties, Ash also lost her lucrative L'Oreal deal to the sweet and sassy Sonam Kapoor,because of her decade old ethics.

Take the case of actress Rani Mukherji, who after a string of flops, has found herself ousted by the perky Genelia D'souza. Brands such as Perk (the ad that made Preity Zinta popular) and Fanta signed on Genelia the moment Janne Tu Ya Jaane Na established her as a favorite with Generation Y. Next on Genelia’s platter is Vatika hair oil that was once in Rani’s bag. And proving that Generation Y is looking for the newest phenomenon is town is Asin’s Miranda ad that has her shaking things up in traditional situations.

This is not a new phenomenon. Indian film history proves that while the Kapoors and the Khans can continue to rule well into their years, actresses always have to slide over for the next sensation in town. And in Bollywood, older stars like Kajol, Shilpa Shetty and Lara Dutta are making few to no movies at all. Instead they prefer to shift gears to reality shows (think Shetty and Big Brother) or opt for heavy off-beat roles. In fact Zinta has been very vocal about her distaste for glam roles, and thinks it’s better left to the newcomers. Where some actresses cite marriage as one of the reasons for not doing more movies, many stars simply say that the right role hasn’t come along. That’s logical considering one can’t imagine the mature Ash in a role like the one Katrina essayed in 'Namastey London'.

Another factor that probably plays a role in established actresses losing out to new ones is payment. It’s only an Aishwarya that can demand six crores for a movie, not a Kareena. All aspects considered, the young divas today will one day find themselves making room for the divas of tomorrow! Such is the circle of life in filmdom.
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After replacing Aishwarya Rai thrice - as the actress with most Internet downloads, ambassador of a jewellery brand and now as the Indian face of Barbie - 25-year-old Katrina Kaif has proved how young actresses in Bollywood are giving their 30-plus colleagues a run for their money.

Not just Aishwarya, Katrina has also replaced 33-year-old Sushmita Sen for an endorsement deal with shampoo brand Pantene.

Noted film critic Saibal Chatterjee says this is a 'normal phenomenon' in the industry.

'Female Actors have a very short span of life as most of them start early and by the time they cross 30, the nature of the roles they get are more mature than candyfloss stuff. So the industry is always on the lookout for young blood,' Chatterjee told IANS.

Other young actresses like Deepika Padukone(23), Kareena Kapoor(29), Priyanka Chopra(27), Sonam Kapoor(25) and Genelia D'Souza(25) too are walking away with the lion's share of films and brand endorsements in the industry these days.

Deepika has been cast instead of 35-year-old Aishwarya in Kalpana Lajmi's 'Singhasan',after Aishwarya's constant refusal. She has also bagged the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) ad from 34-year-old dimpled beauty Preity Zinta.

Like Katrina, Bollywood's size-zero girl Kareena, 29, nudged Aishwarya out of the Filmfare Top-10 Power list. And 'Masakali' girl Sonam Kapoor has succeeded Aishwarya as the Indian face of cosmetic brand L'Oreal, for their skin whitening product.

After the success of 'Jaane Tu...Ya Jaane Na', Genelia D'Souza has become a sought after name and replaced Preity and Rani Mukerji as the brand ambassador of Cadbury's Perk and Fanta respectively.

These apart, Kareena took on the mantle of doing a full-fledged role opposite Aamir Khan in 'Three Idiots' after Kajol walked away.

'When Rekha and Hema Malini turned older, Madhuri Dixit and Sridevi replaced them. When the latter two became slightly older, Aishwarya Rai and Rani Mukerji took their place and now these two are being replaced by Katrina and Priyanka. It's a cycle - even these actresses will be dethroned some day,' said Chatterjee.

Said Priyanka, who was cast in 'Dostana' after Aishwarya declined the offer: 'Age is nothing but a number. You can't generalise in terms of age, but no one in this industry is indispensable. Someone takes over from somebody. I have and I'm sure it will happen to me too at some point.'

Apart from Tabu, Preity and Sushmita, a lot of the older actresses - Bipasha Basu, Aishwarya, Rani, Lara Dutta, Kajol and Shilpa Shetty - are making few appearances on screen.

While some say that they have made a personal choice to do just a few roles in a year, others like Shilpa and Preity are shifting gears between acting and business after they chose to be part of the cricket extravaganza, the Indian Premier League (IPL).

While Rani(31) is struggling Hard to servive, Preity(34), who recently featured in offbeat films like 'The Last Lear' and Deepa Mehta's 'Heaven On Earth', says she might get back to her bubbly, girl-next-door image, only if she gets a role with substance.

'I will do masala movies for sure, but I would like to have substance in them. I can't do just the glam chick any longer. I've been there, done that. It just doesn't inspire me any more. I have to leave that for the other girls to do. That's the way one grows,' she had said.

But right now she has only one film in her kitty - Jahnu Barua's 'Har Pal'.

Tabu, 38, who has been absent from the silver screen after 'The Namesake' and 'Cheeni Kum', too has only one film 'Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai'. Similarly, Rani also has just one project in hand - Yash Raj Films' tentatively titled 'Hadippa'.

And 34-year-old Kajol, who drifted away from the scene after marriage, is doing only Karan Johar's much-hyped film 'My Name Is Khan'.

'I am not going to do four films a year. I will work, but at my own speed,' Kajol had earlier told IANS.

After marrying actor Ajay Devgan in 1999, Kajol cut down on her film roles and makes occasional appearances on the silver screen.

However, Aishwarya's kitty still seems full - the Youngest Padma Shri awardee is shooting for Mani Ratnam's 'Ravana' with husband Abhishek Bachchan, Tamil film 'Endhiran' (earlier titled 'Robot') alongside superstar Rajnikanth and Vipul Shah's 'Action Replay' opposite Akshay Kumar. After completing these Mega-budget films she will start shooting for Sanjay Leela Bansali's Guzarish, opposite Hrithik Roshan, Vishal Vishal Bhardwaj's next opposite John Abraham, and Rituparno Ghosh's next venture.She is charging 4-6 crore per movie and is fully packed till 2010 end.