Age no bar: senior actors get back to work!
Back in May, when the Maharashtra government allowed the resumption of film and TV shoots, it brought bad news for cast and crew members above the age of 65 as they were barred from the sets. But earlier this month, the Bombay High Court set aside the norm. As a result, a number of senior artistes are getting back to work now.
Amitabh Bachchan, 77, has kicked off shooting for the new season of Kaun Banega Crorepati. Rakesh Bedi, 65, has joined the team of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah. Also, Neena Gupta, 61, and Kanwaljit Singh, 68, have just resumed work on Kaashvie Nair’s untitled next starring Arjun Kapoor and Rakul Preet Singh in the lead.
That’s not all. We have exclusively learned that while Naseeruddin Shah, 70, will soon start shooting for director Gauravv K Chawla’s new web show, Shabana Azmi, 69, is readying to face the camera for a web series based on the Mughals.
“How can you stop top talents such as Anupam Kher, Amitabh Bachchan or Naseeruddin Shah?” says Indian Film and Television Director’s Association president, Ashoke Pandit, adding, “And why target only the showbiz world? By that logic, the same rule should apply to every sector, from the corporate world to even politics. I am extremely happy that they, like everyone else, are getting back to work.”
While actor Surekha Sikri, 75, recently said “many of us (65-plus artistes) are going through a difficult time, and need money to survive”, director David Dhawan feels a creative person can’t be retired because he/she has turned 65. “Look at so many of our great talents. You couldn’t have suddenly asked them to sit at home,” he says.
Filmmaker Shoojit Sircar feels it “would have been practically impossible” to follow the earlier directive”. “At any given point, there are so many senior cast and crew members on the set,” he says. Pandit feels for senior actors too, it was a matter of survival. “Also, 65 is like the new 40 in today’s times. An artiste only gets better with age,” he concludes.