Ten Bollywood films that paired older actresses with younger actors

New Delhi: Romantic comedy Ki & Ka opened to collections of ₹ 25 crore last weekend making a statement on both gender role reversal and Bollywood age norms by bringing Kareena Kapoor Khan together with younger male actor Arjun Kapoor. Incorporating the same detail into the plot, the film has gone against the widely accepted Bollywood stereotype of male actors romancing women much younger to them. Here are 10 other films that did the same.

1. Maya Memsaab (1993): Early in his career, young Shah Rukh Khan was seen romancing Deepa Sahi in the Ketan Mehta-directed film about a woman’s desires and ambitions beyond marriage. Embroiled in several controversies at the time, it managed to earn slightly over ₹ 1 crore at the box office.

2. Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996): The action film saw veteran actor Rekha share a romantic angle with then rising star Akshay Kumar. Directed by Umesh Mehra, it made more than ₹ 14 crore at the box office.

3. Army (1996): Sridevi starred opposite Shah Rukh Khan in this revenge saga directed by Raam Shetty. A moderate hit at the time, the film that made no mention of the age difference earned about ₹ 5 crore in box office collections.

4. Dil Chahta Hai (2001): Farhan Akhtar’s directorial debut was a modern, urban take on relationships, focusing on the lives of three young friends. One of them (Akshaye Khanna) falls in love with an older divorcee and alcoholic (Dimple Kapadia). Often considered a cult classic, the film managed collections of more than ₹ 6 crore.

5. Shabd (2005): College professor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan falls in love with younger colleague Zayed Khan as part of a ploy by her author husband Sanjay Dutt. The Leena Yadav-directed film made about ₹ 5 crore at the box office.

6. Wake Up Sid (2009): Ayan Mukerji’s coming-of-age drama featured Ranbir Kapoor as a rich spoilt brat who discovers his calling thanks to an older friend (Konkona Sen Sharma), though the age disparity was no part of their love story. The film earned Kapoor much praise for his acting skills, besides making ₹ 22 crore at the box office.

7. Dil Bole Hadippa (2009): The long-forgotten Yash Raj film features Rani Mukerji as a cricket-crazy fan who pretends to be a man to join an all-male team. Shahid Kapoor plays coach and their age disparity was no part of the plot. The film directed by Anurag Singh earned more than ₹ 7 crore at the box office.

8. Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu (2012): Shakun Batra’s directorial debut was a clutter-breaker in many ways bringing Kareena Kapoor Khan with the younger Imran Khan in one of the most unusual one-sided love stories in recent times. Unfortunately, the film failed to make much of an impact at the box office, earning less than ₹ 40 crore.

9. B.A Pass (2013): The crime drama directed by Ajay Bahl featured Shilpa Shukla (of Chak De India fame) seducing a teenager played by Shadab Kamal. The neo noir film was widely acclaimed and earned more than ₹ 8 crore at the box office.

10. Gunday (2014): Priyanka Chopra appears alongside relative newcomers Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor in this Yash Raj potboiler, though there was no allusion to her being older. The film made close to ₹ 80 crore and Chopra also went on to do blockbuster period drama Bajirao Mastani with Singh.

All figures have been sourced from movie websites Bollywood Hungama and IBOS Network.