U : Uncles in Hindi Films / Bollywood #AtoZChallenge 2019

I really like Liam Neeson. He is 66 years old now. He plays characters which reflect his age. And he still comes across as a daredevil. Leonardo DiCaprio played a 20 years old guy in Titanic in 1997. He was 23 years old then. As his career progressed, he kept playing more mature characters. He has millions of fans across the world and his lack of vanity is refreshing.

But heroes in Hindi films refuse to play their age. They want to play roles which will suit their kids in real life. Salman Khan was 24 years old when he made his debut. I was 8 years old then. Today he is 53 years old, but most of the characters he play have a reel age lesser than my real age. And he is no Anil Kapoor whose age doesn't show. Of course these guys make efforts to maintain their bodies, but can age be defied so blatantly! 

Hindi film hero's fixation to play roles much younger in age, has led to several incestuous situations. In the 1976 movie Kabhie Kabhie, the character played by Amitabh Bachchan loves the character played by Raakhee, but ends up marrying the character played by Waheeda Rehman. Now we are made to believe that Hindi film heroine is mortal and she ages. While the Godly hero never does. In 1978, two years later, in a film called Trishul, Waheeda Rehman played Amitabh Bachchan's mother. 

Actors like Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor kept playing younger roles and heroes to much younger heroines for decades. Then came a point where they started looking so old, that the audiences rejected them and their films. As these uncles rediscovered themselves and started playing characters suited to their age, they tasted success again. In fact they both have done some really good films off-late. But before they realized that they can't be thirty always, they gave us some cringe-worthy work. In the song Dhanno ki Aankh, from the film Lal Badshah, Bachchan is dancing along a much younger Manisha Koirala, so lethargically, almost like her grandfather. 

Rishi Uncle can't believe his luck in this song from film Daraar, that a 15 years younger Juhi Chawla, is singing love paeans for him. Look at his wide open mouth. Don't miss Rishi's famous sweaters in this one.

Age is just a number till the time it shows in the wrinkles on your face and tires on your waist. 

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My theme for this year's #AtoZchallenge is Hindi Film Industry / Bollywood cliches. You can read the theme reveal post here.

2017 Challenge Post from Letter U: Usha Madam - A post in which I talked about my first teacher. Click here to read.

2018 Challenge Post from Letter U: Urination in open  - A post about solving this pressing problem. Click here to read.