Bollywood's Ladies Are Fabulous After 40!

It’s such a misconception that actresses -- any woman for that matter -- are on a downwards slope when they hit 40.

Kareena Kapoor

Forty and fabulous is true.

Take Charlize Theron.

At 40, she kicked solid butt as Furiosa and stole a march on Tom Hardy’s titular character in Mad Max: Fury Road.

‘It’s such a misconception that actresses -- any woman for that matter -- are on a downwards slope when they hit 40,’ she says.

Back in Bollywood too, 40 is looking better than ever for our leading ladies.

Once relegated to playing bhabhi or mommy roles or entirely disappearing from limelight to focus on her family life, the Hindi film heroine is staying put.

Though the likes of Sharmila Tagore, Shabana Azmi, Rekha, Dimple Kapadia, Raakhee and Hema Malini have stayed active well beyond the big 4-O, it wasn’t as mainstream as one would have liked.

As the latest entrant in the 40s club, Kareena Kapoor is juggling her personal and professional worlds just fine. Earlier too, marriage to Saif Ali Khan or raising the most famous kid in the country never came in the way of her job.

The actress worked all through her first pregnancy and soon after it.

Ditto for next one on the way due in early 2021. As is her big movie Laal Singh Chaddha opposite Aamir Khan, an official remake of Forrest Gump.

Vidya Balan