From Joggers Park to De De Pyaar De, these films dared to make the age gap between their unlikely lovers part of the story rather than something to quietly ignore.
IMAGE: Nivin Pauly and Mamitha Baiju in Bethlehem Kudumba Unit; Mamitha Baiju and Suriya in Vishwanath And Sons.
Key Points
- Indian cinema has a history of casting younger heroines with older male leads, but a growing number of films are now explicitly addressing and exploring the age gap within the narrative.
- From Joggers Park to Premam, these films explore romances where a significant age difference between the lead characters is central to the story.
- With Bethlehem Kudumba Unit and Vishwanath And Sons also addressing age-gap relationships head-on, the feature looks at how Indian cinema has tackled this potentially uncomfortable dynamic.
Girish AD’s Malayalam rom-com, Bethlehem Kudumba Unit, serves up an unconventional romantic pairing: 41-year-old Nivin Pauly opposite 25-year-old Mamitha Baiju. Now, casting a young actress alongside a much older male superstar is practically a tired tradition in Indian cinema.
Mamitha herself has already shared the screen with veteran actors like Dhanush in Kara and Suriya in Vishwanath and Sons.
But here is the catch: Bethlehem Kudumba Unit refuses to sweep that age gap under the rug.
Director Girish AD confirms the real-life age difference is baked right into the characters, serving as the driving force of the plot.
The script does not expect you to politely ignore the years between the hero and heroine; it builds the entire romance around them. Interestingly, this isn’t the first time Nivin Pauly finds himself in an age-gap romance.
This dynamic is also quickly becoming familiar territory for Mamitha, too. Her previous release, Vishwanath and Sons, which hit theatres just a week prior, also saw her falling hard for an older man. In that film, Suriya’s rigid hesitation to reciprocate those feelings drove the core conflict of the story.
Sreeju Sudhakaran rounds up 10 Indian films released this century where a younger heroine falls for a significantly older hero, and the screenplay dares to address the elephant in the room: that age gap.
Joggers’ Park (2003)
Where To Watch: Prime Video, MX Player
IMAGE: Perizaad Zorabian and Victor Banerjee in Joggers’ Park.
The late Anant Balani’s drama charts an unlikely friendship between a retired, highly respected judge (Victor Banerjee) and a young model (Perizaad Zorabian). They meet while jogging at, you guessed it, Joggers’ Park.
As they peel back each other’s intellectual layers and discuss their individual generational quirks, their platonic bond slowly shifts into romantic territory.
The catch? He is a married family man with grown children, while her friends are totally against whatever is going between the two.
The screenplay smartly steers clear of making their relationship physical, focusing instead on a deep, mutual respect. Today, the movie is perhaps best remembered for Jagjit Singh’s soulful track, Badi Nazuk Hai Ye Manzil.
Cheeni Kum (2007)
Where To Watch: Prime Video, MX Player, JioHotstar, Z5
IMAGE: Amitabh Bachchan and Tabu in Cheeni Kum.
R Balki’s sweet rom-com centres on a cynical 60-something chef who falls in love with a much younger spinster.
The conflict here is hilarious: Her fiercely opposed father is actually younger than his prospective son-in-law. Amitabh Bachchan, Tabu and Paresh Rawal (as the exasperated dad) are all in top form.
Cheeni Kum easily won over critics and pulled in decent box office numbers. If only we could say the same for the other Amitabh Bachchan film on this list that hit theatres that exact same year.
Nishabd (2007)
Where To Watch: Prime Video
IMAGE: Jiah Khan and Amitabh Bachchan in Nishabd.
There was a distinct era when Ram Gopal Varma was obsessed with casting Amitabh Bachchan, constantly shoving the legend far outside his comfort zone (like making him play the villain in Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag).
With Nishabd, he pushed the audience out of theirs, too.
Bachchan plays a happily married, middle-aged photographer who develops an uncomfortable obsession with his daughter’s uninhibited friend (the late Jiah Khan) during her holiday stay with them.
Nishabd essentially becomes this emotionally scarring car crash journey of a man blowing up his entire family life to pursue a forbidden romance. Viewers were deeply unsettled by the premise, flat-out rejecting the film at the box office, and Bachchan never took on such risqué roles again.
The Lunchbox (2013)
Where To Watch: JioHotstar
IMAGE: Irrfan Khan and Nimrat Kaur in The Lunchbox.
Ritesh Batra’s globally acclaimed drama constructs a sensitive relationship between a nearing-retirement government clerk (the late Irrfan Khan) and a neglected housewife (Nimrat Kaur), all without them ever sharing a frame.
Their bond sparks over a mix-up in Mumbai’s dabbawala system, growing through handwritten notes tucked inside a lunchbox.
The Lunchbox refuses to neatly label their connection. Instead, it operates on a deeper emotional level, giving the older man a renewed lease on life while empowering the woman to finally walk away from her souring marriage.
Batra’s next, Photograph, also featured a similar, understated age-gap romance, this time between Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Sanya Malhotra’s characters.
Ohm Shanthi Oshaana (2014)
Where To Watch: JioHotstar, Manorama MAX
IMAGE: Nivin Pauly and Nazriya Nazim in Ohm Shanthi Oshaana.
Jude Anthany Joseph’s delightful coming-of-age rom-com stars a perfectly cast Nazriya Nazim as Pooja, a spirited teenager who develops a life-altering crush on a slightly older man (Nivin Pauly).
While he instantly brushes off her feelings as mere teenage infatuation, she spends the next few years fiercely proving him wrong. Naturally, it all builds to a highly satisfying happy ending.
Packed with infectious humour and standout performances from Nazim, Pauly, Aju Varghese and Vineeth Sreenivasan, Ohm Shanthi Oshaana remains one of Malayalam cinema’s most rewatchable comfort films.
Premam (2015)
Where To Watch: YouTube
IMAGE: Nivin Pauly and Madonna Sebastian in Premam.
Alphonse Puthren’s Premam charts three distinct phases of its protagonist George’s (Nivin Pauly) romantic life. First comes the unrequited high-school crush, Mary. Then, a tragically doomed romance with his slightly older college lecturer, Malar.
In the final act, he ends up marrying Celine, a young woman he rescues from a toxic relationship. The twist? His new bride is the exact same girl who used to tag along in a primary school uniform behind his very first high-school crush.
Madonna Sebastian, who played Celine, reprised the same role a year later in the Telugu remake opposite Naga Chaitanya.
Dear Zindagi (2016)
Where To Watch: Netflix
IMAGE: Shah Rukh Khan and Alia Bhatt in Dear Zindagi.
While not a traditional romantic track, the final act of Gauri Shinde’s coming-of-age drama confirms that Alia Bhatt’s Kaira has developed genuine feelings for her much older, divorced therapist, Dr Jehangir.
Frankly, it is hard to blame her when he is played by a ridiculously suave Shah Rukh Khan.
The movie handles the romantic confusion beautifully. Jehangir gently turns her down, explaining that patient-therapist transference is completely normal, but acting on it violates professional ethics.
Still, the film leaves the door cracked just enough to tease the possibility that the handsome doctor might have harboured feelings for her, too.
De De Pyaar De (2019)
Where To Watch: JioHotstar
IMAGE: Ajay Devgn and Rakul Preet Singh in De De Pyaar De.
Akiv Ali’s rom-com throws Ajay Devgn and Rakul Preet Singh into a chaotic romantic entanglement, with Devgn playing a 50-year-old wealthy NRI dating a woman half his age. What starts as casual flirtation quickly escalates into a serious march towards marriage.
The first film squeezed its comedy from the couple desperately seeking approval from his separated wife, a scene-stealing Tabu, and his grown kids. The sequel, arriving six years later, flips the script.
This time, they have to win over the much younger bride’s family, pitting them against her fiercely disapproving parents (R Madhavan and Gautami Kapoor), who will stop at nothing to sabotage their relationship.
Manmadhudu 2 (2019)
Where To Watch: Netflix
IMAGE: Rakul Preet Singh and Nagarjuna in Manmadhudu 2.
I am not sure what cinematic universe Rakul Preet Singh was operating in during 2019, but De De Pyaar De wasn’t her only outing falling for a 50-something millionaire.
In this Telugu rom-com, Nagarjuna plays an older playboy who, to silence his family’s relentless marriage demands, hires a cash-strapped young woman to play his fake fiancée.
Naturally, it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out exactly how this supposedly strictly-business arrangement ends up. The film also sprinkles in fun cameos from Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Keerthy Suresh and Akshara Gowda.
GDN (2026)
Where To Watch: Not Available For Streaming
IMAGE: R Madhavan and Dushara Vijayan in GDN.
If R Madhavan was busy fighting off an older son-in-law in the De De Pyaar De sequel, GDN sees him stepping right into the older groom’s shoes.
This biopic casts him as the ingenious inventor and industrialist G D Naidu, with Dushara Vijayan playing his younger second wife, Ranganayaki.
The marriage only comes about after his first wife (Priyamani) abruptly walks out of his life (and from the movie), claiming she isn’t the right person to fuel his ‘growth story’, whatever that actually means.
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff
