Men don't age in India: says Pooja Bhatt
Mumbai, Jan 11: Actor-director Pooja Bhatt believes women start blooming in their forties but somehow they are not represented correctly on the screen whereas men continue to play characters half their age.
Pooja, who is returning to the silver screen after a gap of 18 years with "Sadak 2", had said goodbye to acting but then it pulled her back.
"I had said bye-bye to acting in a way but once an actor always an actor. Life has got other plans for me. Like I did not want to be an actor, I wanted to be an architect or astronaut and 'Daddy' happened and the rest is history.
"I felt I was happy being in the back, launching people like Sunny Leone, repackaging Richa Chadda, John Abraham but life had other plans and it includes 'Sadak 2' and a web series," Pooja told PTI in an interview.
Known for her films such as "Daddy", "Sadak" and "Zakhm", Pooja will reprise her role in the sequel of "Sadak", that marks the return of her filmmaker father Mahesh Bhatt to direction.
Pooja, whose last film as an actor was "Everybody Says I'm Fine" in 2001, will also be seen in a web series based on Abheek Barua's book called 'A City of Death'. Set in Kolkata, the story revolves around an alcoholic female cop in her 40s, who is sent to investigate a crime of passion.
"Sadak 2", Sanjay Dutt and Pooja will be seen playing the older couple while Pooja's younger sister Alia Bhatt and Aditya Roy Kapur are the young pair.
"I am glad when I am coming back to acting I am getting to play my age," Pooja said.
"One thing I do not see happening is women of certain age being represented correctly. We have to evolve conceptually. Men don't age in India. Women who are younger then them are suddenly playing the role of a mother," she said.
The actor said she also played the role of Ajay Devgn's mother in 1999 film "Zakhm" because the role demanded it but she would not play the role of a mother just for the sake of it.
As an actor and producer, Pooja said she has always taken risks.
"One woman who I think is great is Vidya Balan, her casting in 'The Dirty Picture' was very exciting. Let's break new grounds, let's think beyond the usual. Why can't a woman who plays a mother, also play a lover, or why a lover can't play a villain?"
Citing the example of American actor-producer Sharon Stone, Pooja, 46, said why can't writers write about women beyond a certain age.
"Where is India's Sharon Stone? How come women in Hollywood come to their own, post their 40s? I feel that's when you actually bloom... Why are men allowed to come to their own at 40s and 50s and women are expected to bury themselves at this age," she added.
Pooja said, personally, her 40s have been more exciting than her 30s.
"I found my feet in my 40s, got divorced at 40, two years of drinking and then at 42, I became sober. My 30s were the most boring phase. When you are in your 40s, you know your mind, body, you know what you want to do and you are not impressed with the usual bulls**t that the world gives you. You don't care about people's opinion and you do what you want to do," she said.
Pooja is currently promoting her film "Cabaret", which has been in the making for sometime and was supposed to release in 2016. It got delayed due to her differences with the producers over its release.
"One of our partners wanted to minimise the cost of print and advertising and I was not in agreement with it. We decided to not release it then. The two years time period then seemed difficult, long and dark but the universe was conspiring for us to give it a right platform. At that time if we would have released it in theatres, the film would have come and gone and nobody would have known about it."
"Cabaret" is streaming on ZEE5 from January 5 and the actor-producer is happy with it's digital release.
"Our standards keep changing. Cinema hall is a cinema hall but it is not the holy grail anymore. My phone has become my cinema hall and we need to understand and respect this new medium.
"Who dreamt that 20 years ago, there will be digital streaming? It is like a new dawn. I am glad I am a part of it," she added.
Directed by Kaustav Narayan Niyogi, the film revolves around a bar dancer, played by Richa Chadha.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
