When it comes to Bollywood's menu, it's always the 'usual'. And so, more often than not, a film revolves around a hero and his younger heroine facing the trials and tribulations of the script.
Sometimes, however, things get a bit 'unusual'. Instead of the hero flaunting his never-ending fountain of youth, it's the heroine's turn to romance a slightly younger guy, preferably a newcomer.
While in some cases -- like that of Dharmendra-Meena Kumari and their sizzling on-screen chemistry in films like Phool Aur Patthar -- a mere three-year old difference hardly made any difference. His Bandini co-star Nutan wasn't so lucky. She made an awkward pair opposite a lanky and visibly younger Amitabh Bachchan in the parabolic Saudagar.
Of course, unlike Dil Chahta Hai or Leela, this age gap isn't all that apparent nor does it form the crux of the plot.
Keeping the tradition alive, the seriously sexy, if older, Bipasha Basu, 29, plays the bohemian bombshell cum live-in girlfriend to a boyish Ranbir Kapoor, 25, in Siddharth Anand's Bachna Ae Haseeno. Whether he chooses her over real girlfriend Deepika Padukone or reel girl-next-door Minnisha Lamba, we do not know yet. Meanwhile, here's looking at some other such unusual jodis.
Madhuri Dixit-Akshaye Khanna, Saif Ali Khan
Age is just a number. It's the difference that shows, especially in the preoccupations and prejudices of Bollywood.
While it's perfectly okay for a 40-something Salman Khan to serenade some school kid in Lucky: No Time for Love, no one exactly screamed 'encore' on sighting the normally poised Dixit to romp around an uneasy bunch of boys like Akshaye Khanna (in Mohabbat) and pre-Omkara Saif Ali Khan (in Arzoo). Needless to say their tame chemistry resulted in box-office damp squibs.
Also Read: Bollywood's Most Kissable Celebs
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