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entertainment THEY are back, and yes, Bollywood’s yummy mummies are ready to slug it out with the younger crop of actresses in the Hindi film industry. The glitz and glamour of the industry has a bevy of yesteryear divas to stage a comeback in the movies. Defying the tradition of marital status and kicking the issue of ‘Age’ aside, these divas have finally arrived on the scene. Taking a cue from Hollywood, where the ever-beautiful Julia Roberts and international sensation Angelina Jolie are still ruling the roost post-marriage and children, our actresses are gearing up to face the cameras and belt out some heavy-duty performances. Until few years back, a 30-plus actress was a non-entity in the Indian film industry. A male actor always enjoyed the freedom to marry and have children but the moment an actress was reported to tie the knot, gossip columns went haywire putting a big full stop to her career. But with changing times, cinemagoers have come to accept their favourite actresses as normal human beings prone to ageing. Karisma Kapoor, 37, mother of two, made her comeback stint recently with Vikram Bhatt’s horror flick Dangerous Ishhq. She played the lead in this supernatural thriller. Besides this, she has also performed a dance sequence for Housefull 2, besides endorsing brands like Garnier and Olay. Hopping on the bandwagon is Sridevi, who was among one of the biggest names on the silver screen through the 1980s and 1990s. Sridevi, 48, who has been off screen for quite some time now, is all set to return with Gauri Shinde’s English Vinglish, which releases in September. Close on the heels is Madhuri Dixit Nene, who moved to the US after tying the knot but the lure of films, has made the actress shift base to Mumbai again. Madhuri (44) married an NRI medico and spent her time bringing up her two kids in Denver, US. Post-marriage, she starred in Aaja Nachle (2007), also touted to be her comeback film but though Madhuri’s performance was widely appreciated, the movie bombed at the boxoffice. Says Madhuri, “I believe that time is right for older actresses to portray more meaningful roles as our society is changing, and so is the subject line of our movies.” Lately, she is making her presence felt on TV, award shows and brand endorsements. Kajol (37), who was among the top Bollywood actresses of the 1990s, decided to call it quits to marry Ajay Devgn. Following the success of Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, she took a sabbatical from full-time acting for five years and made a smashing comeback in Kunal Kohli’s directorial Fanaa, which bagged several awards. Similarly, Raveena Tandon (37) also made her comeback with the movie Bbuddah Hoga Terra Baap (2011) starring the evergreen Amitabh Bachchan. But despite high hopes pinned to this release, Raveena’s performance went unnoticed. Raveena married film distributor Anil Thadani and distanced herself from the big screen to raise her two kids. Likewise Bhagyashree, the innocent lovelorn girl singing “Kabootar Ja Ja” in Maine Pyaar Kiya (1989) returned to big screen with the movie Red Alert (2010). However, she couldn’t recreate the magic in her later movies and signed off to raise her children. Nikhil Advani, director of movies like Kal Ho Na Ho, Salaam-e-Ishq, Patiala House, is said to be all set to cast several Bollywood divas for his ambitious upcoming venture. Insiders say that this women-centric film will represent all four generations with Madhuri Dixit, Dimple Kapadia and Shabana Azmi portraying the first generation, Karisma Kapoor characterising the second generation, Rani Mukerji and Preity Zinta depicting the third generation while Genelia D’Souza and Deepika Padukone will be the face of the hopes and aspirations of fourth generation.
Many feel that the ‘M’ word is no longer forbidden in Bollywood, and in no way affects the career graph of stars. Film critic Taran Adarsh says that there is hardly any need for stars to keep their marital status under wraps as the same has negligible effect on the boxoffice results. Trade pundits all echo in the same tone. Industry must stand up and give these glam mommies their share of adulation for the unswerving courage to come out to play the second innings of their career this boldly and beautifully.
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