Here, the Pakistani entertainment industry shows a sharp gender bias around age, limiting the scope of the role and career longevity for the female actor. But women, despite possessing talent equal to that of their male peers, see opportunities dwindle with time while men move from playing subordinate roles to leading roles with heroines.
A recent example discussed on a podcast with actor Nabeel Zafar draws attention to the issue, referencing the popular sitcom Bulbulay. There, Hina Dilpazeer is found playing the role of his mother, in a situation never likely to occur in reverse. Zafar himself argues the case, praising Dilpazeer for her professionalism but the very same moment spotlighting the imbalances in the industry.
On screen, whether in television serials or feature films, male stars like Fahad Mustafa and Humayun Saeed get top billing opposite actresses who are far younger than them without their craft or their career being questioned. Established stars like Mahira Khan are pressured to “preserve” a youth so that they can get the leading roles; public criticism from a veteran actor, Firdous Jamal, made him suggest that Khan had come “due” and was over the hill.
It isn’t only the Pakistan industry; Hollywood and Bollywood show similar biases. However, these industries have learnt progressive changes, too. Women like Meryl Streep and Helen Mirren are acclaimed by age, for playing intricate and leading roles past their fifties. The Pakistani industry has resisted such changes up to now, as is the belief that women need to be young only to stay on the screen.
The resistance against diverse casting in Pakistan continued to resurface with the recent backlash against Atiqa Odho, one of the most popular actresses of Pakistan. She would go on to find an audience willing to accept her romantic roles if she was to act alongside younger actors, show some the raw nerve of deep-seated biases, which reject such pairings that demand actresses to fit a narrow, youth-centered mold.
An ingrained double standard runs even deeper, as younger male actors are denied opportunities where older male stars have cornered those created for younger roles. That discrepancy calls for the industry to reconsider its casting tradition and maybe open more doors for younger artists while increasing scope for veteran female artists.
Change in Pakistani cinema would thus change the landscape of the heroine in leading roles. The heroine would finally be mature, multi-faceted, as is the case in Bollywood and features actresses like Tabu, who continues to win praise and delivers critically acclaimed performances in age-appropriate roles, thanks to which Pakistan’s entertainment industry would reflect a more all-inclusive accurate representation of age and gender on celluloid.