Shruti Haasan says perception of Hollywood actors being ‘more ahead, progressive is nonsense’: Everyone is dealing with…

Actor Shruti Haasan has reacted to actor Maggie Gyllenhaal’s 2015 remark when she said that at the age of 37 she was rejected as the love interest of a 55-year-old actor. In a new interview, Shruti said that the perception that Hollywood actors ‘are more ahead and progressive is nonsense’. She added that ‘everyone is dealing with the same thing’ as it is a ‘male-driven society, world, and industry’. Shruti also called it ‘normal in society if there is a younger woman with an older man’. (Also Read | Shruti Hassan says she got her nose fixed as it was broken: ‘But if I could make it prettier, why wouldn’t I’)

Speaking with TheWrap Magazine in 2015, Maggie had said, “I’m 37 and I was told recently I was too old to play the lover of a man who was 55. It was astonishing to me. It made me feel bad, and then it made me feel angry, and then it made me laugh. A lot of actresses are doing incredible work right now, playing real women, complicated women. I don’t feel despairing at all. ”

In an interview with Pinkvilla, Shruti said, “I think it is normal in society that if there is a younger woman with an older man not many questions are raised as to whether the older woman wants to remarry or date again, so this is societal conditioning. Your example of a Hollywood actress, oh, we think they are more ahead and progressive is nonsense because everyone is dealing with the same thing. It is a male-driven society, world, and industry as well. So, we are fitting into that. Am I fighting the fight of the questioning? No, not at the moment.”

Speaking about ageism in the industry, Shruti said, “I think ageism in the world is an issue. It is a youth and the vanity-driven world we live in, especially in the world of social media. The question is do you want to buy into it or not? There is beauty and grace with every age. There are certain roles you can play with only a certain amount of age and experience and those are the things I like to focus on and not get into the whole ageism talk.”

Shruti will headline an international film The Eye, to be directed by Daphne Schmon. The psychological thriller will also feature Mark Rowley, as per the Hollywood trade website Deadline. The Eye has a screenplay by Emily Carlton. The cast also includes Anna Savva, Linda Marlowe and Christos Stergioglou.

She will be next seen in filmmaker Prashanth Neel’s upcoming directorial Salaar, along with actors Prabhas and Prithviraj Sukumaran. The movie will release across India in five languages. Besides Prabhas, Prithviraj and Shruti, the movie also has Jagapathi Babu, Easwari Rao and Sriya Reddy in key roles. Salaar is all set to hit the theatres in 2023.