Anjali Nair played Mohanlal and Dulquer Salmaan’s mother even before turning 40; became easy TARGET by trolls

Age-gap casting continues to spark debates across the Indian film industry. While senior male stars are frequently paired opposite actresses decades younger than them, women rarely receive the same flexibility when it comes to age on screen. In many cases, young actresses are even cast as mothers to actors older than them, exposing the long-standing imbalance in mainstream cinema.A recent example that reignited this discussion was Harish Shankar’s ‘Ustaad Bhagat Singh’ (2026), where 24-year-old Sreeleela was paired opposite 54-year-old Pawan Kalyan. The trend is not limited to romantic roles alone. Several actresses have been assigned maternal characters despite being younger than the actors they portray as sons.One of the most talked-about examples was Honey Rose playing the mother of 65-year-old Nandamuri Balakrishna in Gopichand Malineni’s ‘Veera Simha Reddy’ (2023). Malayalam cinema too has witnessed similar casting choices over the years. Veteran actor Kaviyoor Ponnamma famously portrayed the mother of Sathyan, even though he was considerably older than her. Actor Anjali Nair also became part of this conversation after essaying mother roles for stars older than herself.At 37, Anjali has already played the mother of actors senior to her in age. In Rajeev Ravi’s ‘Kammatipaadam’ (2016), she appeared as the mother of Dulquer Salmaan, who is older than her by a few years. The same year, she portrayed the mother of young Murugan in ‘Pulimurugan’ (2016), linked to Mohanlal’s character in the flashback portions. However, she did not share direct mother-son scenes with the superstar.Anjali began her acting journey as a child artiste in Fazil’s ‘Manathe Vellitheru’ (1994). Years later, she made her debut as a lead heroine with the Tamil film ‘Nellu’ (2010) before returning to Malayalam cinema through ‘Seniors’ (2011).Over the years, she has built an extensive filmography with projects like ‘Venicile Vyapari’, ‘Matinee’, ‘5 Sundarikal’, ‘Pattam Pole’, ‘ABCD: American-Born Confused Desi’, ‘Munnariyippu’, ‘Mili’, ‘Annmariya Kalippilannu’, ‘Oppam’, ‘Kammara Sambhavam’, ‘Take Off’, ‘Drishyam 2’, ‘Kaaval’, ‘Aarattu’, ‘Monster’, and ‘Vaathil’. Her Tamil credits include ‘Unnaiye Kadhalipen’, ‘Idhuvum Kadandhu Pogum’, ‘Nee Naan Nizhal’, ‘Annaatthe’, and ‘Chithha’. She was also seen in the Telugu film ‘Couple Friendly’.Apart from films, Anjali recently made headlines for stepping into politics. She joined the Twenty20 Party, which is aligned with the BJP-led NDA, and contested the 2026 Kerala Assembly elections from Thrippunithura constituency.According to SCREEN, during the campaign, she became the target of online trolling after making statements suggesting that locals had already accepted her as their MLA even before voting took place. Her comparison between the Lotus, the BJP symbol, and the Jackfruit, the Twenty20 Party symbol, also triggered widespread reactions online. According to her election affidavit filed on Myneta, Anjali declared assets worth Rs 99.75 lakh and liabilities amounting to Rs 71.39 lakh.In the final results, Congress candidate Deepak Joy secured victory in Thrippunithura with 70,256 votes, while CPM’s KN Unnikrishnan came second with 51,788 votes. Anjali finished third after receiving 29,471 votes.Anjali was earlier married to director-screenwriter Aneesh Upasana. The couple separated in 2016 and share a daughter, Aavni, who has already started acting as a child artiste. In 2022, Anjali tied the knot with assistant director Ajith Raju. The couple later welcomed their daughter, Aadvika.