Aamir Khan, 57, Responds Why 40-Year-Old Mona Singh Is Playing His Mom In 'Laal Singh Chaddha'

The age difference between male and female leads in Bollywood has always been a heated discussion and debate topic. While A-list male actors enjoy leading a film and romancing heroines half their age, women often play mothers or have a "supporting" role in Bollywood films.?

The shelf-lives of female actors have been shorter as compared to men.

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In the 2005 release "Waqt," Shefali Shah played Akshay Kumar's mother. At the time, Shefali was 32, while Akshay was 37.?

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Actor Neena Gupta flagged another side of the age debate in Bollywood.

Neena

She stirred a controversy when she raised the question of why younger actresses are cast for roles in Bollywood that could easily be bagged by actresses her age — the movie in context was 'Saand Ki Aankh.'

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Bollywood fans have started detecting the age discrepancy and pointing out how the industry has been fair to female actors. When Akshay Kumar romanced Manushi Chillar in "Samrat Prithviraj, it became an issue for fans to accept their equation, considering their wide age gap.

Another film that received backlash was 'Laal Singh Chaddha.' Why is 40-Year-Old Mona Singh playing the mother of 57-Year Old Aamir Khan??

Aamir Khan

In Laal Singh Chaddha, Mona Singh plays a mother. After the 2009 blockbuster 3 Idiots, the actress teamed up with Aamir Khan for the second time. In the film, Mona plays the mother of a young Laal.?

Netizens trolled Aamir and Mona's age discrepancy on Twitter for the same reason. During a conversation, Aamir defended Mona from the trolls.

During a recent media interaction, Aamir said,?

"I want to ask you a question as an actor, as a creative person. If I'm looking 103, which I'm supposed to be, why is my age inappropriate to play the role? Just because I am 57? What is the logic? Age specific kya hota hai actor ke liye? Actor ka toh yeh kamaal hota hai ke woh kuch bhi age ka ho aur kuch bhi age lage. (It is the beauty of the actor to look any age on screen despite their real age being different.)."

He further added,?

"Yeh toh Mona Singh ka kamaal hai. Jab aap dekhoge toh aapko lagega ke badi young lag rahi hai, phir aapko lagega ke yeh toh badi old bhi dikh rahi hai. (When you see Mona Singh in the film, you will realize her brilliance. At one point, you will feel she is looking very young, while at another, she is looking old as well)."

‘Laal Singh Chadha’ will now clash with Akshay Kumar’s ‘Raksha Bandhan’ on August 11.

‘Laal Singh Chaddha,’ produced by Aamir Khan Productions, Kiran Rao, and Viacom18 Studios, also stars Kareena Kapoor Khan, Mona Singh, and Chaitanya Akkineni. It is an official remake of the Academy Award-winning 1994 film Forrest Gump, which had Tom Hanks in the lead role.

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