Isha Koppikar recalls being uncomfortable romancing older heroes on screen: 'I used to feel like...'

Many actresses like Avneet Kaur to Alia Bhatt are seen romancing actors older than them on screen. Another such actress, Isha Koppikar, who was quite active in the film industry during the 2000s, has now revealed that she was “uncomfortable” romancing actors older than her but had no choice. 

In an interview with Siddharth Kanan, Isha Koppikar opened up on romancing older actors like Suniel Shetty and Govinda in films like Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat and Aamdani Atthanni Kharcha Rupaiya. The actress recalled being uncomfortable and said, "You do feel uncomfortable when you work with someone 30 or 20 years older than you. I felt uncomfortable when I was working with elderly heroes. You don’t get the feeling like you are hugging your partner or lover, you feel like you are hugging your father. I used to feel that. I was new, I thought this was the norm."

She further added, “You are an actor; you focus on your part and forget they are elderly. You wouldn’t feel cringe with everyone, some of them had maintained themselves very well and wouldn’t look their age, but some obviously had that air and demeanor of a senior, due to age and experience in the industry.”

She further quipped that after the actress crosses the age of 35, she plays a mother to a 50-year-old hero, who would romance a 25-year-old actress and said, "They should understand what they look and accordingly play the part. I hope this changes, because the audience is not foolish. I have seen them in theatres saying, ‘Ye kitna buddha lag raha hai, ghar pe baith; apni beti ki umar ki ladki saath romance kar raha hai.’ They say this bluntly, which is the truth. Because of social media, everyone knows this!”

Isha Koppikar made her Bollywood debut with the film Ek Tha Dil Ek Thi Dhadkan and then later went on to star in films like Fiza, Tujhe Meri Kasam, Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya?, China Town and Don: The Chase Begin among others. 

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