"If the heroine's father doesn't have a problem, then why do you?" That, ladies and gentlemen, is Salman Khan's response to the ever-widening age-gap discourse in Indian cinema.
And while his delivery may have been peppered with punchlines, the problem is anything but new or funny.
As Kamal Haasan's much-hyped Thug Life releases in India (except for Karnataka) today, it's not the story or the legendary actor's return to the big screen that's grabbing headlines.
Instead, it's the controversies. Be it Kamal Haasan's defiance in the face of the Tamil vs Kannada language row, or the nearly 30-year age difference between Haasan (70) and his leading ladies, Trisha Krishnan (42) and Abhirami (42), coupled with their romantic scenes, that have social media locked in yet another familiar debate.
Love In The Time Of Longevity
The trailer of Thug Life, directed by the acclaimed Mani Ratnam, dropped like a bomb, not because of plot twists, but because of glimpses of Kamal Haasan sharing romantic and kissing scenes with his much younger co-stars.
While many fans welcomed the vintage charisma of Haasan, a large section of the Internet expressed discomfort with what they see as the film industry's continuing obsession with older male actors romancing women "young enough to be their daughters". Kamal Haasan older daughter Shruti, in fact, is actually in the same age bracket: 39.
The backlash was swift. The Internet called it a "glorified midlife fantasy," questioning whether such age-gap portrayals were appropriate or even relevant in modern storytelling.
But both the actresses in question quickly addressed the brewing storm.
"Nowadays, anything can become a controversy. We can't escape that," Abhirami said, urging fans to wait for context before judging.
She said, "I'm not someone who can question Mani Ratnam sir's logic in casting me in that role...The scene in question is only three seconds long. What was shown in the trailer created some misunderstandings, that's all."
Trisha echoed a similar sentiment, noting that she anticipated the chatter long before signing on.
"I think that's something I knew when they announced the film and I had not even signed it. So, that's when I knew, wow, this is magic. So, all of us as actors, we were like, oh damn, we have to do some work here. We've got to stop staring at them. So, it was magic," she said, recalling the surreal experience of working again with Haasan and Ratnam.
Director Mani Ratnam, never the one to shy away from complex storytelling, defended his casting choices. He argued that audiences must distinguish between "real-life identities and fictional characters". Age-gap relationships, he said, exist in society, and cinema must reflect society.
Bollywood's Long History Of "Forever Young" Heroes
But Thug Life is hardly the first to ignite this conversation. In fact, it's just the latest in a long string of films where older male actors have comfortably stepped into romantic leads opposite significantly younger actresses and often without much consequence.
Take Salman Khan, for instance. His recent Eid release Sikandar, directed by AR Murugadoss and co-starring Rashmika Mandanna, stirred the same controversy.
Rashmika is 31 years younger than Salman, yet plays his romantic interest.
At the trailer launch, the actor quipped, "They say there is a 31-year difference between the heroine and me. If the heroine doesn't have a problem, or if the heroine's father doesn't have a problem, then why do you have a problem?"
He added, "When she gets married and has a daughter, and if her daughter becomes a big star, then I will work with her too-with her mother's permission, of course."
Sikandar the film in fact also touches upon the (very visible) age gap between Sanjay (Salman Khan) and Saisri (Rashmika Mandanna), when the latter says that their age gap might be significant, but their "soch" were in sync.
Then there was Tiku Weds Sheru, where Nawazuddin Siddiqui, in his late 40s, romanced 21-year-old Avneet Kaur, sharing a much-criticised kissing scene.
When backlash erupted, he offered this justification and said, "Romance is ageless. The problem is that the young men have no romance left... Today, Shah Rukh Khan continues to do romantic roles because the young generation is 'nalli' (useless). They don't know romance."
Malayalam superstar Mohanlal faced similar scrutiny when paired with the much younger Malavika Mohanan in Hridayapoorvam.
When a fan presumed she was cast as his romantic interest, Malavika clapped back: "Who told you it's a love interest? Stop judging people and a film with your half-baked, baseless assumptions."
Mohanlal, for his part, simply said that if an actor is "confident and healthy, age shouldn't be a barrier".
If The Tables Had Turned...
What's striking and what really fuels the fire is the glaring hypocrisy when roles are reversed. When Aishwarya Rai Bachchan starred opposite a nine-year younger Ranbir Kapoor in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, the Internet exploded with hot takes. Suddenly, age was a problem. Rai's being a mother was mentioned. Her marriage was dissected. Her "appropriateness" was questioned.
But where is that energy when Salman romances actresses like Disha Patani (Bharat, Radhe) or Saiee Manjrekar (Dabangg 3), or when Akshay Kumar is paired with Sara Ali Khan (Atrangi Re), Manushi Chhillar (Prithviraj) or Kriti Sanon (Housefull 4)? All of whom have a 20-plus-year age gap?
Actor Ratna Pathak Shah summed it up perfectly: "When male actors are not ashamed to romance actresses who are younger than their daughters, what should I say?"
And it's not just her. Voices across the industry have started calling out this uncomfortable cinematic pattern. While the same scrutiny seldom applies to men, ageing actresses find themselves slowly pushed out of romantic narratives, unless they're cast as someone's mother, or worse, grandmother. Case in point: 40-year-old Ridhi Dogra playing 59-year-old Shah Rukh Khan's mother in Jawan.
Internet's Verdict Is Nothing New
Social media continues to be a battleground for these discussions. While defenders of these films argue for creative freedom and character logic, critics call out the recurring pattern that favours patriarchal aesthetics over progressive representation. The Internet, quite frankly, is tired.
Tweets, memes and Reddit threads routinely drag male stars for "playing lover boys with grey hair", while ignoring equally talented female actors ageing off-screen, sidelined into irrelevance.
One recurring online argument asks: What if the roles were reversed? What if a 70-year-old actress kissed a 40-something man in a mainstream film trailer? Would it still be called "magic"?
We all know the answer.
So... Is Age Just A Number?
There's no denying that older actors can be charismatic, fit and bankable. And in some cases, age-gap romances are narratively justified. But when such pairings become the norm rather than the exception, especially at the cost of giving older actresses romantic roles, the optics begin to feel stale.
As Thug Life releases today, the spotlight is back on Kamal Haasan's performance and Mani Ratnam's storytelling. But the underlying question won't disappear: In a progressive society, is it finally time to rethink how age, gender and desirability are portrayed on screen?
Because no matter how charming the punchlines are, the punch still lands. And not always in the right place.
