Bollywood’s time-honored tradition of using older male stars with younger female co-stars was the focus of attention in the debut episode of Amazon Prime Video’s new celebrity talk show, Two Much With Kajol and Twinkle. Presented by Kajol and Twinkle Khanna, the inaugural episode had Bollywood titans Salman Khan and Aamir Khan, generating headlines about age and gender roles in mass cinema.
In the frank interview, Kajol had put her finger on the problem: “When the hero is involved with a younger woman, it’s called ‘cinema magic’. But when the older heroine is involved with a younger man, it’s termed ‘bold’. Why does it happen like that?”
Aamir Khan replied reflectively, stating that casting was a matter of the script requirements. Salman Khan was more subtle in his approach. He said, “See, depending, like there was Sridevi. If she’d have continued working, she could have still done. Madhuri can still play if there’s a role.” He underlined that whenever producers search for a “fresh” combination, they tend to opt for co-stars who have not shared screen space much until then. “Ab itna kaam kar liya hain hum sab logone ki wo jodi purani lagti hain (We’ve worked together so much that the pair looks old),” Salman remarked.
Kajol emphasized that this sense of logic never works in the opposite sense — older women and younger men. Salman recognized this imbalance and responded, “But aesi script hi kitni aati hain aap logo ke paas (But how many such scripts do you guys get)? I don’t think if the film is good and the story is woven around something like that, an older woman and a younger man, I don’t think anyone would mind that.”
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This discussion occurred mere days following Salman’s next project Sikandar generating excitement for casting him with new age actress Rashmika Mandanna. Although such a casting is usual for male actors in the 50s and 60s, it is yet to be the norm for veteran actresses.
The Banijay Asia-produced show has gained a lot of buzz since the premiere. Two Much With Kajol and Twinkle guarantees entertaining, light-hearted celebrity conversations with Bollywood’s largest stars. Some of the upcoming episodes will see guests such as Akshay Kumar, Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Karan Johar, Kriti Sanon, Vicky Kaushal, Govinda, and Janhvi Kapoor. New episodes are released each Thursday on Amazon Prime Video.
