Veteran Indian television and film actress Farida Jalal is a well-known face who has played several memorable characters effortlessly and sometimes with a quirky element. The actress has raised concern against older female actors getting typecast in the role of a mother, while their male co-stars still bagging meaty characters.
“My male counterparts like Anupam Kher, Om Puri, Amrish Puri and others get to play different roles like a lawyer, doctor etc. We are given a sari with a border and are told to play a mother or wife. I am dying to play different kinds of role. After a certain age, we are slotted,” Farida told Indian publication Pink Villa.
Even though Bollywood has witnessed a surge in women-centric films, but good roles written for older women have not surfaced yet.
“There are women-oriented films and roles being written; they are making a noise and I am proud and happy for them. But after a certain age, it will stop and even they won’t get exciting roles. The biggest of actors like Waheeda Rehman, Rakhee ji, Shabana Azmi are all mostly playing roles of mother, there are no other roles being written,” she said.
Farida Jalal with Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol in DDLJ
Interestingly, the actress wants to do a negative character but has never gotten a chance to do so.
“I want to play an out-and-out negative character. That will be a challenging thing for me to work on as a performer. But whenever I say this, filmmakers say that the audience will never relate to me as a dark character because I am a pretty looking woman and such a role does not go with my image,” Farida said.
“Aray bhai, karwa key toh dekho na, performer ko limit mat karo (at least give a chance, don’t limit the performer),” she added.
Farida Jalal was last seen in the Shahid Kapoor starrer Batti Gul Meter Chalu. She also disclosed that her scenes from the film were chopped in the final edit. “If they think the film is a little long they chop our scenes. So this way or that way, we are given the worst. But I don’t blame anyone,” she said.
Farida does, however, feels there is respect for the older generation of actors and the remuneration has also improved.
