Forty, but hot?

doweshowbellyad=0; ROLE-MODELS: Teri Hatcher (Reuters Photo)
Teri Hatcher of Desperate Housewives says there aren’t enough roles for women over 40. There are even fewer takers in Bollywood
They are likely to be disappointed. The heroine’s aunt or mother, gossipy neighbour, or glam socialite -- that’s the range of roles older actresses are offered even today when 40 is not old in any other sphere.
Actress and social activist Nafisa Ali feels the male characters in Indian cinema are always larger than life, irrespective of their age."Opportunities are scarce for women over 40 in the industry. The look of the heroine becomes central to many projects because filmmaking is a visual medium. But cinema isn’t my bread and butter, and so the trend doesn’t affect me that much. Still, I’ll soon be seen in a film called Godfather opposite Vinod Khanna in which we play the lead couple," she says.
The Indian audience also prefers its heroines young. Films like Freaky Chakra and Pyaar Mein Twist, which had a slightly older Deepti Naval and Dimple Kapadia playing the lead roles, sank without a trace for this reason. And filmmakers take their cues from the fate of these films. Director Anurag Basu, who faced criticism for showing an elderly couple kissing in Life... in a Metro, says the audience gets what it wants. "We try to please the 15-29 age group since they frequent movie halls the most. I’d love to make a film with them. But it’s unlikely that it would do business," he says.
Actress Dimple Kapadia, who’s probably the only veteran actress to be offered offbeat roles in films such as Being Cyrus and Dil Chahta Hai, feels the problem isn’t India-specific. "Even in the west you have fewer roles written for middle-aged women. At most you can have one or two scripts coming your way that will have you playing substantial roles. The rest are all character roles. It has to do with the commercial aspect of filmmaking," she explains.
Meanwhile, all the male megastars in Bollywood are in their 40s, even if not all of them look youthful on screen. But screen divas like Madhuri Dixit and Juhi Chawla have been under constant scrutiny when they made their comebacks.
Actress Dolly Thakore, however, feels things have changed for the better for women above 40. "Slightly older women are playing pivotal parts. You can’t expect us to run around trees at this age, can you?" she asks.