Actor Disha Patani is not sure if she will get to work with actor Salman Khan again after Bharat. She says that their age difference may keep her from playing his heroine in future projects. But when has a drastic age difference between him and his female co-stars has been a problem for Salman?
In a recent interview to Mid-day, Disha voiced her concern about getting to work again with Salman. “I have a management and I have to discuss the roles with them. But, the fact that I loved this role so much that I had to do it. Plus I don’t know if I ever get an opportunity of working with Salman sir again, so, I knew that I needed to do this,” she said. When asked why she thinks so, she said, “I mean there is an age gap which honestly in this film is managed because he’s shown as a young Salman who is in his late 20s. So, it was easier for people to understand and accept the equation.”
However, Salman is sure that wouldn’t be a problem. “Why? What age difference she is saying? I’m doing a film with a 17 year old now,” he told The Times of India. Salman and other male superstars like Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Rajinikanth are often criticised for choosing to work with female co-stars decades younger than them. Salman, Shah Rukh and Aamir who are all 53 years old, have worked with Anushka Sharma (31), Katrina Kaif (35), Sonam Kapoor (33), Deepika Padukone (33) as their romantic interests in films. Rajinikanth (68) recently worked with Amy Jackson (27) in 2.0.
On Monday, singer Sona Mohapatra called out Salman for working with young female actors. She was criticising him for taking repeated digs at Priyanka Chopra for leaving his film Bharat last year. She even mentioned how Salman’s fans were posting memes underneath her tweets, ‘joking’ about Priyanka’s age difference with her husband Nick. “Trying telling that to his fans who shadow his toxicity & are calling her derogatory names on my timeline. They meme her 10 year age gap with her husband but conveniently forget that their idol is close to 20 years older than her. Grow up, you fools, I say to them,” she tweeted.
While it is not known which 17 years old actor Salman is talking about in his latest interview, he has indeed signed a film with Alia Bhatt, who is 26 years old. They will star together in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Inshallah. Talking about their ‘unusual pairing’, Alia said in an interview, “Bhansali is a visionary. People are too quick to judge. There is a plan in place and a reason behind the casting. I am thrilled to be working with Salman. Even I never thought this combination is possible. It will be an intriguing journey and Salman is genuinely warm and kind. They are a magical duo together and I am blessed to be in it.”