When Kamal Haasan spoke about actors romancing heroines half their age: ‘I can still do that… even in real life’

When asked about actors in their 50s and more continuing to play the hero in South cinema, Kamal Haasan immediately listed out actors from other industries, who were doing the same.

By: Entertainment Desk

Chennai | Updated: April 1, 2025 07:32 PM IST

3 min read

When asked about actors in their 50s and more continuing to play the hero in South cinema, Kamal Haasan immediately listed out actors from other industries, who were doing the same.

Kamal Haasan once commented on male stars romancing younger actors on-screen and many belonging to the former category playing heroes well into their 50s.

An age-old debate in Indian cinema has been about actors playing age-appropriate roles. We have often seen thespians, especially men, playing characters that are at least a couple of decades younger than their real selves. This also leads to them being paired with young female actors, who are, more often than not, half their age. This debate was recently brought up during the promotional drive of Salman Khan‘s Eid release, Sikandar. The film, which stars Rashmika Mandanna opposite Salman, was criticised for the age difference between the two leads. While Salman is 59, Rashmika is 28, and this was a point of discussion, which was completely dismissed by the almost sexagenarian superstar, who said, “If the heroine doesn’t have any problem or the heroine’s father doesn’t have any problem, then why do you have a problem? And when she (Rashmika) gets married and has a daughter, and then she becomes a big star, then also we will work (together). We will get the mother (Rashmika)’s permission for sure.”

Now, this might be told in ‘jest’ to just put an end to this line of questioning, or not, but nevertheless, this is a question that is often asked to our superstars, who are now almost in their 60s and 70s. Actor-filmmaker-politician Kamal Haasan, who hasn’t had a ‘pair’ in his films for over a decade now, was asked in an NDTV interview 12 years ago about this phenomenon. In fact, when asked about actors in their 50s and more continuing to play the hero in South cinema, Kamal Haasan immediately listed out actors from other industries, who are doing the same.

“Clint Eastwood, Charles Bronson, Cary Grant, Amitabh Bachchan, and in fact, Dilip (Kumar) saab did Ram aur Shyam when he was in his mid-40s. So, as long as we can take the ride, we should,” said Kamal Haasan, adding that all that he can do is to not play the role of a college student when he is in his 50s.

But when the questioning moved to actors romancing heroines who are half their age, Kamal Haasan simply said, “I can still do that… even in life. It is not that difficult. If art is emulating life, then it is very much possible. Didn’t Onassis marry someone half his age?”

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Kamal Haasan can rest assured that the characters in his recent films, especially since he turned 60, were also modelled to be closer to his age, and he wasn’t playing a much younger man, thereby romancing even younger women. But it is a long shot to think the same about other actors in Indian cinema. Nevertheless, the questioning is still valid, and the answers… well, it is an age-old debate for a reason.

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