Short shelf life? Not our 'desi' heroes!

Hollywood star Brad Pitt recently said that he knows that he has few years left as a leading man, and he’s only 47.

However, going by the current Bollywood scenario, industry-watchers insist that this does not apply here considering our topmost stars are 40 plus.

“Take a look at the biggest stars today and all of them are 40 plus. In fact, two of our superstars, Rajinikanth and Amitabh Bachchan are 60 plus and still ruling the roost,” says trade analyst Taran Adarsh.

“Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan, Aamir Khan are all 40 plus, and are ruling the marquee,” a distributor agrees, adding that their popularity has only increased with the age so far, so much so that even the young turks think twice about taking a panga with them at the BO.

Actor Abhishek Bachchan feels that Pitt’s statement is an individual opinion.

“Bollywood’s evolved a great deal and proven that age has nothing to do with good work. Sure at 60 plus you don’t expect them to play teeny boppers, but then dad (Amitabh) did play a 10-year-old and Aamir (Khan) was superbly convincing as a college student in 3 Idiots and of course, Rajininkath, who continues to be the best in the industry,” he says.

Trade analysts, however, point out that the limited shelf life logic is more applicable for actresses here.

“No matter how good an actor she is, somewhere after a while she has to come to terms that she may not be ruling the roost unlike her male counterparts post 40,” explains Taran.

An actress who didn’t wish to be named agrees.

“People don’t mind watching a 45-year-old romance an actress half his age, but would they want to see him romance a 40-year-old actress or would they be open to seeing that actress romance someone half her age, I don’t think so.” 

“Filmmaking seems  a natural progression for these actors,” points out Taran, as he refers to the huge number of actresses in the late 30s who’ve turned to movie-making from acting.

A star, on conditions of anonymity, however adds, “We decide our own shelf lives. Even in Hollywood, you have a Robert DeNiro and a George Clooney, so why put an expiry date on us?”