Social Media Calls Out 29 Years Age Gap Between Samrat Prithviraj Co-Stars

Bollywood is infamous for pairing middle-aged male actors with problematically young female actors on screen. Actor Akshay Kumar's upcoming film Samrat Prithviraj has reignited the age gap debate as the 54-year-old actor is paired with 25-year-old actor Manushi Chillar. Social media users did not just point out the 29 years of age gap, they also noticed the pattern followed in Kumar's latest films.

Samrat Prithviraj is one of the many films starring Akshay Kumar where the female lead was at least 20 years younger than him. Before Manushi Chillar, actors such as Kiara Advani, Amy Jackson and Anushka Sharma were romantically paired with Akshay Kumar. It seems like the actor kept growing older and the women romancing on-screen got younger.

Akshay Kumar Manushi Chillar Age Gap Is Troubling Viewers

Highlighting the bizarre aspect of a grown man romancing a woman half his age, one user made a meme out of a still from the film Samrat Prithviraj. Sharing the picture featuring Manushi Chillar and Akshay Kumar from the film, the user wrote, "Daughters are the best" noting how Chillar can actually play the role of Kumar's daughter because of the age gap between them. See the post here. 

One user wrote, "Why. WHY THERE HAS TO BE AGE GAP THIS BIG??? WHY CAN'T THEY GET ACTRESS SAME AGE AS AKSHAY KUMAR??? OR ACTOR SAME AGE AS MANUSHI CHILLAR???? " While another user wrote, "The age gap between him and manushi chhillar is more than the age gap between me and my DAD oh my god."

Twitter timelines were raging with comments of people expressing concerns over the trend of young female actors being cast with men much older than them. Unbothered by the criticism, Akshay Kumar is going to keep up with the pattern in his next film as well. He has been cast alongside 27-year-old Radhika Madan in the remake of Suriya's Soorarai Pottru.

Suggested Reading: Why The Lopsided Age Gap Between Lead Couples In Bollywood Doesn’t Bother Us?

The female lead of Samrat Prithviraj, Manushi Chillar, gave a statement on the age gap between her and Akshay Kumar. She said, "The age factor is irrelevant between the actors, it is how you are playing your character in the movie." Chillar's statement does not explain why young men romancing older women on screen is not so normalised in mainstream Bollywood. Why can't women actors of Akshay Kumar's age group play those characters well?