Kapil Sharma has left no stone unturned in pulling Akshay Kumar’s leg for portraying a romantic hero to women considerably younger than him. In Prithviraj, Akshay will be seen opposite Manushi Chhillar, who is 25 years his junior. The actor appeared on the most recent episode of The Kapil Sharma Show, where he was playfully mocked by the comedian. On Reddit, a clip from the show was posted. It has, however, been deleted now.
When Kapil was in school, Akshay played Madhuri Dixit and Ayesha Jhulka’s boyfriends on TV. He further claimed that when Kapil was in college, Akshay was romancing Bipasha Basu and Katrina Kaif onscreen. Kapil stated of his recent films in which he played the love interests of Kriti Sanon, Kiara Advani, and Manushi, “Hum to bas inki heroines ke interview karne ke liye paida huye hain (I was born to just interview his heroines).” Kapil had made similar joke on Akshay for collaborating with Saif Ali Khan’s daughter Sara Ali Khan, who was about 30 years younger than him, during the promotional campaigns of Atrangi Re.
While some people questioned when the film industry’s sexist mentality will change, others blamed the industry. “Nobody has stopped old actresses to star opposite young guys. It’s just that producers feel that it won’t be financially viable. Blame the audience, not the actors,” wrote one as another commented, “Actors need pull to bring audiences to theatres. Only those who have it are cast.”
Prithviraj, directed by Chandraprakash Dwivedi, is a film about the heroism of Prithviraj Chauhan, a warrior king. Manushi Chillar will play Sanyogita, while Akshay Kumar will play the title role. Sanjay Dutt, Sonu Sood, Ashutosh Rana, Sakshi Tanwar, Manav Vij, and Lalit Tiwari also star in Prithviraj. The film will be released in June 3, bankrolled by Yash Raj Films.
