Actor Neena Gupta has proved that age is just a number, time and again. But there are instances when she still struggles to get past the prevalent ageist culture in the film industry. The 63-year-old has now revealed that many male actors are still hesitant to star opposite her, as they would prefer working with younger female co-stars.

“There are two-three projects where I asked the director who is opposite me, but he said, ‘You suggest someday’. I said, ‘This is the most difficult thing’ because it’s difficult to find anyone to work with me,” she told GOODTiMES.

The actor, who made her Bollywood debut in 1982 with Saath Saath, added, “Koi kaam nahin karne ko ready hai [mere saath]. Most of them want to work with younger actresses, although I might look younger than them. Our society has not changed... We live in a patriarchal society and it will remain like this.”

Back in 2017, the actor left everyone pleasantly surprised when she took to Twitter and shared that “she is a good actor, living in Mumbai and looking for good parts to play”. That paved the way for her second innings in the industry. Since then, she has starred in projects such as the 2018 film Badhaai Ho and the web series Panchayat.