Does The Glaring Age Gap In Govinda's "Chashma Chadha Ke" Make You Flinch Too?

The problem is not watching an older man romance a younger woman on the silver screen. The problem is watching this as a trend and the older man retaining his spot as the lead actor but the younger woman keeps changing. And by some magical spell keeps getting more younger and younger. On December 2, Govinda dropped the teaser of his new video song, Chashma Chadha Ke. Have you seen it yet? Here is what we find problematic in it:

In the 30-second video clip, Govinda can be seen stepping out of a yellow Lamborghini and taking snaps of a girl, played by Shanayaa Kaur. The couple then dances on the road, on a yacht and at a mandap, he is seen pulling the old dance moves that he is famous for. Not only that, he is seen romancing a younger girl in a series of different shots and constant costume changes.

Fans appreciated this teaser and are eager to know when the song is releasing. But few in the comment sections called him "uncle" and others started defending the actor saying that Shah Rukh and Salman Khan does the same.

Indeed they do. The glaring example could be Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif's Tip Tip Barsa Paani song from Sooryavanshi. The original had Raveena Tandon as the woman in a yellow saree under the shower with her dance moves. When the song was recreated, the actor remained the same and so did the backdrop only, the female actor changed. So keeping up with the trend, Govinda's song, unfortunately, does not come as a surprise.

Salman Khan too is known for romancing women 20 years younger than him on screen. In Dabangg, his co-star Sonakshi Sinha was 23-years-old. In the recent past, it has been true for a lot of his films. Anushka Sharma in Sultan, Sneha Ullal in Lucky or Disha Patani in Bharat and so on.

The glaring age gap between the male and the female actor has been discussed time and again. Even Meena Sagar, the actor for Drishyam said in an interview with SheThePeople that she was also told that the span that a female actor has in the industry is way short. After a few years of playing heroine and lead, most women actors start playing the roles of mother to the hero.

In the case of a few female actors, they end up playing mother characters to the hero with whom they had once starred opposite to. Does this not seem problematic to you? How is it fair?

This shows the problem that persists in an industry that sees women through a gendered gaze. The younger a woman is, the more desirable she seems to be. 

Though there are actors like Meena who are carving their own space in terms of the roles that they get. They are not satisfied with being mothers to the same-aged actor while he gleefully dates a younger girl on screen. For them meatier roles with layers and complexities in characters matter. Here's to hope that the Hindi film industry listens to our plea and next time casts better and progressively.

Suggested Reading:

Sooryavanshi Tip Tip Song: Bollywood Heroines Are Replacable, But Heroes Aren’t

Five Female Actors Who Called Out Gender Pay Gap In Bollywood

Where Is The Outrage Over Demeaning Portrayal Of Women In Films?

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