There is a hue and cry in a section of the social media about Akshay Kumar being too old to be cast opposite Sara Ali Khan in Aanand Rai’s new project Atrangi Re.
But the fact is, Aanand Rai isn’t casting Sara Ali Khan as the conventional romantic heroine in Atrangi Re.
Says an informed source, “Aanand knows exactly what he’s doing. If you remember, in Raanjhana when he had cast Sonam Kapoor opposite Dhanush, there was a hue and cry over the odd casting. In Atrangi Re the age difference between Akshay and Sara will be completely justified.”
Of late, it is true that Akshay Kumar’s heroines are getting younger by the week. He was cast opposite 29-year old Kriti Sanon in Housefull 4 and prior to that Bhumi Pednekar was only 28 when she did Toilet Ek Prem Katha with Akshay.
Filmmakers are looking for intelligent, sensible ways of casting young heroines opposite ageing superstars, like Salman Khan who was all set to star in an age-challenged romantic film entitled Insha Allah directed by Sanjay Bhansali with Alia Bhatt which got shelved. In the recently-released Jawaani Jaaneman, Alaya Furniturewalla who is Saif’s daughter’s age, plays his daughter while Saif’s real-life daughter Sara Ali Khan who is all of 24 is cast in a very unusual relationship with 52-year old Akshay Kumar.