With the theatrical release of the Hindi-language movie 'Samrat Prithviraj', the wide age gap between the male star and his heroine has become a matter of debate all over again. Akshay Kumar is aged 54, while Manushi Chillar is aged 25. The age gap between the 'Radhe' pair Salman Khan and Disha Patani was 27 years.
It is not just Akshay and Salman but also several other male stars have romanced female actors half their age in films. The age gap between Ravi Teja and Sreeleela, his 'Dhamaka' co-star, is the widest: 34 years. If the Mass Maharaja looks too old opposite his heroine, even the audience and not just film critics are going to criticize the pairing.
In its Op-Ed on the issue, OpIndia says that the audience’s acceptance of mismatched pairing often encourages the sexualization of young women on screen.
