Sean Connery – now there is a man who even with a white beard and age lines on his handsome face can still cause many hearts to flutter. He has aged gracefully and with each advancing year he seems to be getting better roles and getter better at playing them. Here is an actor who has not tried to hide his age behind plastic surgery and dyed hair.
Robert Redford – another example of a phenomenal actor who has grown old gracefully and has accepted roles where his age is not a mitigating factor but an asset. The finely chiselled face only seems to become handsomer as he grows older.
We can name many more actors and actresses in Hollywood and in other parts of the world who did not try to hold onto a fading glory, but turned it into a positive feature. Sharon Stone, Shirley Maclaine, Morgan Freeman are but a few illustrations in front of us.
But once we move towards Bollywood we are hard put to find too many such examples. Amitabh Bachchan is one of the rare exceptions which prove the rule. He still towers over the Bollywood stage and the gravelled voice and the ability to play any roles – whether comedy or drama with grace and elan make him the king of our film industry.
But on the other side of the coin we have many actors and actresses who seem to have forgotten a certain arithmetic in their lives. The years being added to their age is something that they would prefer not to remember. They have obvious plastic surgery signs – Dev Anand being a prime example of this. Even if they leave the wrinkles and fine lines on their faces, they offset them by heavily dyed hair. They seem to accept roles which should have been played by younger stars, and they come on reality shows where even in their capacity as avuncular judges, they seem to be competing with the young and nubile contestants.
We do not feel that they should just fade away from the scene. After all, they have many years of experience and expertise. The fact that they are not being offered meatier roles which suit them may be one of the major causes why they seem to be trying to hold on to their fleeting glory.
Just think of a film where Sharmila Tagore, a rare example of a graceful older actress can be pitted against stars such as Anupam Kher and Amitabh Bachchan. Paul Newman never moved away from the centrestage, since directors were always offering him excellent roles. Maybe our producers and directors can do the same with our thespian Dilip Kumar or with Dharmendra and Mithun Chakravarty. Naseeruddin Shah and Amol Palekar in “A Wednesday” are a prime example of two superb actors carrying an entire film on their shoulders.
Let us not ask them to retire, but let us request them to let age move in gracefully and use it to their advantage. They were our idols for a long time, and we happily accept the fact that like many of us, they have grown older and wiser. But if they insist on playing roles which do not suit them, then maybe a retirement home maybe a good idea!
