Farida Jalal calls out ageism in Bollywood

Veteran star says female actors get typecast into roles of wives or mothers as they grow older

Actor Farida Jalal has called out ageism in Bollywood, saying female actors get typecast into the maternal roles as they grow older, while their male co-stars continue to play meaty characters.

Jalal laments that older female actors often end up playing either mothers or wives. “My male counterparts, like Anupam Kher, Om Puri, Amrish Puri and others, get to play different roles like lawyers or doctors, etc. Us women, however, are given saris with a border and are told to play mothers or wives,” The Indian Express quoted her as saying.

“I, for one, am dying to play different roles. After a certain age, we are slotted. Nobody thinks a female actor can play different roles, other than those of mothers. What can one do? We just have to wait for good roles to come,” Jalal added.

Bollywood saw a spate of female-centric films recently but that change is just limited to leading ladies, stated the Kuch Kuch Hota Hai actor. “There are women-oriented films and roles being written, they are making a noise and I am proud and happy for them. But after a certain age, it will stop and even these women won’t get exciting roles,” said Jalal. “The biggest of actors like Waheeda Rehman, Rakhee and Shabana Azmi are all mostly playing roles of mothers; there are no other roles being written. I get a lot of offers even today but I look for something different in what is offered to me. I wait for something that excites me.”

Jalal also claimed that her scenes from the recent Shahid Kapoor-starrer Batti Gul Meter Chalu were chopped in the final edit. “If they think the film is a little long, they chop our scenes. So this way or that way, we are given the worst. But I don’t blame anyone.”

The 69-year-old actor, however, feels there is respect for the older generation of actors and the remuneration has also improved. “There is respect. In terms of remuneration, things have improved. Some girls are lucky to get heroine-oriented roles.”

Jalal is excited about her web series Parchayee: Ghost Stories by Ruskin Bond. “For me, it is about facing the camera, be it a web series, TV or films. An actor acts in front of a camera. It is a new medium. Creatively, it is different for the writers and makers,” she said.

“The name Ruskin Bond in itself is big. I love to be associated with a project which is marvellous in everything, from its writing to the team involved. This is coming from Ruskin Bond so the horror has a different class and tone. It is not the typical horror stuff.”

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