Sharmila Tagore feels elder heroines don’t get roles written for them, unlike veteran actors, who still command respect. “So many scripts are written for elderly male actors; these things are not happening for female actors. The girls have to be very young and the man can carry on forever. In my time, life stopped at 30 or 40, but it doesn’t have to because life carries on and there are a lot of interesting phases in life which the audience might like,” added the actress.
In her career spanning from the ’60s till now she has observed changes in the industry.
“When we were working, acting was not considered a very good profession…. now that has changed. From then to now, films have become a very coveted profession and the roles of women are getting stronger. Films like Piku and Neerja being made and doing well proves that,” she said. She pointed out the things have become better for girls in the industry. “In my time, heroines couldn’t do a negative role, but now you can and people accept you. So, I think, Indian films are in a very good place. Today, heroines get to play more varied roles,” she added. She also feels that while the multiplex culture has helped filmmaking evolve, it has taken away the charm of the big screen phenomenon.
“In our time, when two or three big films were ready — for example, films of Dilip Kumar or Raj Kapoor – then smaller films had to wait for their release. But now, films like Newton get released; a Masaan gets released and get a good niche audience.”
