We’ve often seen senior actors portraying roles of grandparents and most of the time, it’s a stereotypical role of a senior citizen who is rigid and orthodox. Now, that is true. Most of our grandparents are old school whether we like it or not. However, some stars have changed how we look at older generations by showcasing a side of the older generation that we’ve seen before. From doing bold scenes to urging their grandkids to allow Mount Fuji to erupt, these bold grandparent characters played by these stars has changed how we look at the old gen.
1. Shabana Azmi
Shabana Azmi plays the role of Jamini Chatterjee, Alia Bhatt’s Rani’s grandmother, who fell in love with Ranveer Singh’a Rocky’s grandfather Kanwal Lund, played by Dharmendra, and had a brief extra-marital affair with him. The duo even kissed on-screen in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, which left people surprised. It was a bold move on behalf of the makers and the actors to romance each other on the big screen as grandparents which has never been done before.
Also Read: Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani Review: Ranveer Singh Rocks In Funny, Moving, Delightfully Subversive Modern Romance. Karan Johar Is Back!
2. Ratna Pathak Shah
Ratna Pathak Shah is not new to bold grandma roles. The actress has played the role of a matriarch in Lipstick Under My Burkha who secretly reads erotica and goes on to have phone sex with a man she fantasizes about. The actress also played the role of a chill grandma who likes a drink or two in Happy Family: Conditions Apply.
3. Dharmendra
The veteran actor recently starred in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani and even had a kissing scene with Shabana Azmi in the Karan Johar directorial. Speaking about the kiss following the release of the film, the actor spoke about how it wasn’t forceful and that there’s no age for romance while adding that irrespective of age people show love by kissing each other.
4. Neena Gupta
Neena Gupta broke the norm by playing the role of a mother of a 26-year-old who gets pregnant with her third child in Badhaai Ho. And let’s not forget Neena Gupta’s grandmother in Lust Stories 2 who urged her granddaughter to take her to-be-husband for a “test drive” to see if Mount Fuji erupts before getting married to him.
5. Naseeruddin Shah
Naseeruddin Shah played the role of a romantic at heart man and had intimate and romantic scenes with actresses in several films including Ishqiya, Dedh Ishqiya, 7 Khoon Maaf and The Dirty Picture. The actor has time and again broken social norms and proven that romance truly has no age.
6. Rekha
Rekha is the one actress who has aged like fine wine and continues to look stunning at the age of 68. She played the role of a don and femme fatale and romanced Akshay Kumar in the 1996 film Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi. In the same year, the actress also played the role of a teacher of Kama Sutra, Rasa Devi in Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love.
Also Read: Why ‘Test Drive’ Before Marriage Is A Good Idea, Like Neena Gupta Says In ‘Lust Stories 2’!
7. Amitabh Bachchan
We all grew up watching Amitabh Bachchan play the role of the badass hero but we’ve also seen him break barriers by playing the role of a 64-year-old man romancing a woman nearly half his age in Cheeni Kum which won him awards. Another film where the actor played an unorthodox and shared unconventional romance with an actress was Nishabd opposite Jiah Khan. And let’s not forget his role as a father who knew about his daughter’s love and sex life in Piku.
These actors did not just change how we see people of our grandparents’ generation but also how we see the actors of their generation by breaking norms and normalising romance at any and every age.