Taapsee Pannu slams ageism in Bollywood: ‘Too old for rom-coms at 30’

Indian actress Taapsee Pannu has never been the kind of actress to stay quiet about the things that matter and this week, she has spoken about something that far too many women in the film industry have experienced but rarely say out loud. Ageism. And the way it quietly, systematically, shuts women out of opportunities the moment they cross a certain birthday.

Speaking to Times Entertainment, Taapsee laid it out plainly. She entered the Hindi film industry in her mid-twenties, spent the first few years struggling to find decent roles, and by the time she had actually made her mark, she was 30. And that, apparently, was already too old. “They say you’re not young enough to be featured in a rom-com,” she recalled.

What makes Taapsee’s observation particularly sharp is the comparison she draws. While women are quietly sidelined after 30, their male counterparts continue to headline films, play romantic leads and attract offers without anyone once bringing their age into the conversation. “It doesn’t really happen the same way with men. Of course, we can all see that. But yes, ageism is a big thing,” she said. And she is absolutely right, we can all see it, and yet it continues.

Her experience in the South film industry was no different. She recalled how the moment she was cast opposite a relatively senior actor, younger actors would suddenly hesitate to work with her, as though being paired with an older co-star somehow made her less castable going forward. The reasoning, she noted, simply does not apply to men. “You dare say that about Shah Rukh Khan,” she pointed out. “An actress’s life changes after working with Shah Rukh Khan. So that taboo is not here, but that taboo was there for me when I worked in the South.”Powerful, uncomfortable and completely true.

On the work front, Taapsee will next be seen in Gandhari, an action-thriller releasing on Netflix. If her track record of choosing bold, unconventional projects is anything to go by, it promises to be well worth the watch.