It’s still a man’s world, especially if you’re a female actor who dares to age

The entertainment industry in Pakistan has long been plagued by gender-based double standards, especially when it comes to age. Men are allowed to age while women are not.

A male actor seamlessly transitions from one leading role to another, while a woman finds opportunities drastically shrinking for her as she grows older. It is no wonder then that the cosmetic industry is making so much money selling anti-ageing products to women.

A glaring example of this disparity can be seen in the hit sitcom Bulbulay, where Hina Dilpazeer plays Nabeel Zafar’s mother despite being younger than him.

On a recent podcast with FHM, Zafar acknowledged this imbalance, commending Dilpazeer for taking on the role gracefully despite their real-life age dynamic. While his words were respectful, the lingering question remains: would a male actor ever be expected to play the father of a woman older than him? Probably not.

Male actors continue to enjoy romantic and heroic roles well into their 40s and 50s, while female actors are pushed into supporting roles as mothers, aunts, or grandmothers as soon as they hit 40, or sometimes even sooner.

Zafar, who was 41 when Bulbulay first aired in 2009 — according to Wikipedia, which we all know is not at all a trustworthy source but provides a reasonable estimate of actors’ ages — was passed off as a young adult opposite 28-year-old Ayesha Omar’s Khoobsurat, while 40-year-old Dilpazeer played his mother without raising eyebrows. The same would never be expected of a senior female actor.

This gendered imbalance isn’t limited to sitcoms — it runs deep in Pakistan’s entertainment landscape.

Men age like fine wine, while women become invisible

Actors like Fahad Mustafa, 41, are still cast in lead roles opposite far younger female actors, such as Hania Aamir, 27, in romantic serials like Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum. The audience not only accepts this pairing but celebrates it. Yet, the reverse is unthinkable because “women age faster than men,” — a phrase casually thrown around by casting directors and producers when confronted with these double standards.

Even those with massive star power like Mahira Khan, who’s now 39, are scrutinised for their appearance and labelled “too old” to play romantic leads. Actor Firdous Jamal publicly criticised Mahira for being “past her prime”, despite her being one of Pakistan’s most bankable stars.

Meanwhile, Humayun Saeed continues to play romantic heroes well into his 50s with little backlash, smoothly shifting between generations of female actors — the most recent example is in The Gentleman, where he is cast opposite 35-year-old Yumna Zaidi. And it’s not the backlash Saeed doesn’t get that’s the problem — it’s the needless scrutiny female actors the same age as him, or even younger, have to face.

The double standard becomes even more glaring when older female actors dare to challenge or even question those norms. Atiqa Odho recently mentioned that fans expressed interest in seeing her paired with 42-year-old Fawad Khan. Instead of being intrigued by the idea, social media users mocked her, calling her “delusional”.

Odho played Fawad’s mother in Humsafar (2011) when she was in her 40s. Meanwhile, Fawad, who is now in his 40s, still plays the hero and will continue to do so for years to come.

A systemic problem

The problem lies not only with casting choices but also with audience expectations. There is an ingrained bias that prevents viewers from accepting women as heroines beyond a certain age, while male actors are granted far more leeway.

This issue isn’t limited to Pakistan. Stars in Hollywood and Bollywood face similar issues. Al Pacino, who was in his 80s during the filming House of Gucci, starred opposite Lady Gaga, who was in her mid-30s. The film portrayed the rise and fall of the Gucci family empire, with romantic and familial tensions woven throughout.

At 61, Tom Cruise reprised his role as Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible —Dead Reckoning Part One opposite Hayley Atwell, who is in her 40s. Though the age gap here is less extreme than in other cases, Cruise continues to be cast in romantic roles opposite far younger female actors. In Top Gun: Maverick, he starred opposite 53-year-old Jennifer Connelly instead of the original love interest, 67-year-old Kelly McGillis, who no longer looks like a woman in her 30s.

In Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan, now, 58, continuously portrays himself as a “youth” icon. In his recent films like Jawan and Pathan, he was seen romancing much younger female actors like Nayanthara and Deepika Padukone, both in their late 30s.

On the contrary, the concept of an older woman and a younger man starring opposite each other remains a cinematic anomaly, rather than something to be treated casually. Hollywood’s Babygirl is a good example of this. The film features Nicole Kidman as a high-powered CEO navigating a relationship with her young intern.

Another film, The Idea of You, sees Anne Hathaway’s character — a 40-year-old single mum — falling for a 24-year-old boy band singer. That’s it — that’s the plot.

While we’ve established that this inequality isn’t unique to Pakistan — which is also an argument presented by local actors and producers when questioned about gendered ageism — what needs to be understood is that two wrongs don’t make a right.

What’s more concerning is the local industry’s reluctance to change. The west, for example, is slowly but surely embracing older female actors such as Meryl Streep, Helen Mirren, and Viola Davis in complex leading roles. They can have lives and romances and much more. However, those winds of change seem far off in Pakistan, where ageist attitudes towards women still prevail.

One needs to understand that this double standard not only limits female actors’ opportunities but also affects younger male actors, who struggle to get roles they’re meant to be playing since established older men monopolise lead parts, playing young adults despite being much, much older.

Unless the industry consciously rethinks its casting practices and audiences learn to appreciate female actors beyond their youth, this disparity will persist.

It is time we started offering female actors the same opportunities and on-screen longevity as their male counterparts — and accept that they too can play vibrant, multi-faceted characters at any age, just like Bollywood’s Tabu or Hollywood’s Nicole Kidman.