Forced to retire? Why married women no longer leading stars down South

Katrina Kaif’s recent confession that she wouldn’t mind quitting films to get married and have kids may have sparked a debate about choice and misogyny, but closer home, that “choice” seems to be a lot more prevalent in the South Indian film industry.

Actresses like Namrata Shirodkar and Jyothika were at their respective career’s peaks when they got married, but were either weaned off films or were cut off from acting completely. Currently, in Tollywood, unmarried actresses such as Samantha, Rakul Preet and Tamannaah rule the roost, getting the bigger bucks and the higher billing.

Tollywood director B.V. Nandini Reddy says that the trend has been prevalent in the industry for a long while. “Earlier, people used to feel that once an actress was married fans couldn’t romanticise the actress. But that’s weird considering male actors could still be romanticised,” she says.

She adds, however, that it’s always a personal choice of the actress to either quit or stay active. Actress Tamannaah agrees: “If a person chooses to be in marital bliss, they can do so, but some want to work while others want to do something else. Actors are human beings too, and each one has their own different journey. And I don’t think anyone judges them for what they choose to do.”

But does that choice have to do with societal pressure or an industry-induced idea? Veteran actress Jayasudha says, “People who are very, very popular, they just want to rest. They just want to live a normal life. I think that’s what Katrina meant.”

However, she adds that in the film industry, “glamour” actresses are the ones who are most affected by the practice. “For serious actresses, there’s not much problem. But for ‘glamour’ actresses, the minute you get married and have children, it’s a problem... in India,” Jayasudha says.

“Even Bollywood started bucking the trend only recently,” Nandini says, and explains, “It’s only in the last seven-to-eight years where you’ve seen people like Kareena Kapoor Khan acting after marriage. It would just take that one person to change the trend — if one or two actresses get married and say, ‘I want to act’ and her spouse saying he wants her to act as well.”

Jayasudha also believes that the problem exists even in the West: “If you look at Harrison Ford and Nicolas Cage, they’re all over 50, but still heroes. The heroes never get old. But as soon as heroines turn 25 they’re ‘old’ — whether they’re single or married.”