Ageing is often presented to women as something they should quietly accept. Radhika Apte is looking at it from the other side.
At 41, the actress says she understands her body and desires better than she did in her 20s or 30s. That thought becomes particularly relevant with Lust Stories 3, where she plays a woman in her 40s and female sexuality is once again placed at the centre of the story.
What makes Radhika’s comments interesting is that she is not talking about ageing only in terms of appearance. She is questioning the larger idea that a woman is somehow expected to become less sexual, less curious or less expressive as she gets older.
That double standard has always been visible. Male actors can continue to be presented as romantic leads well into their later years, while actresses are often expected to move away from stories involving desire once they cross a certain age.
Radhika’s point challenges that thinking without pretending that ageing itself is something to fight. For her, getting older has also meant knowing herself better.
She has also spoken about wanting her daughter to grow up without the shame and discomfort traditionally attached to conversations around sexuality.
Perhaps that is the more interesting conversation here. Age may change the body, but why should it automatically decide what a woman is allowed to feel, want or talk about?
