Asha Parekh asks ‘Why aren’t people writing roles for us’, quips Amitabh Bachchan is getting roles at this age

Asha Parekh is one of the finest actresses of her time. She has been a part of some of the most popular films and be it her charm or her beauty, everything was loved by fans. She might be away from the silver screen but that does not stop her fans from revisiting her old films and appreciating her acting skills. During a recent session of Maitri: Female First Collective, the veteran actress expressed her displeasure with the current situation in the Hindi film industry and also questioned why are filmmakers not writing roles for actresses her age.

Asha Parekh expressed displeasure with the current situation in the Hindi film industry

While talking about the film industry, Asha Parekh said, “Today, Mr. Amitabh Bachchan, at this age also, people are writing roles for him. Why aren’t people writing roles for us? We also should be getting some roles which are important to the film. That’s not there. Either we are playing mother, grandmother or we are playing sister. Who’s interested?” She further added that for women at those days, it was like their career was finished once they got married but now it has changed. But one thing that has not changed is that the hero’s maybe 50 or 55 years but they are still working with 20-year-old actresses and that is still acceptable.

Sharmila Tagore on Hindi film industry having few roles for women of certain age

This is not the first time that a veteran actress has pointed this out. Recently, Sharmila Tagore expressed that as compared to Hollywood where they have good roles for women of a certain age like Meryl Streep, Judi Dench or Maggie Smith,  the Hindi film industry is still a ‘little ageist’. But according to her the game is changing slowly because of OTT. “We are still slightly ageist, especially with women because powerful roles go to the men. Like special scripts are being written for Mr Amitabh Bachchan, Anupam Kher, but not for Waheeda (Rehman) ji and not for many other ageing lady actors,” Tagore told PTI. “Hindi cinema is not where Hollywood is in terms of offering roles to older women. There are wonderful, more mature actors, Neena (Gupta) for instance, she is a magnificent actor. There are many others… OTT is full of wonderful performers. It will take time but it will change.” Sharmila concluded by confidently saying, “It will happen here.”