When it comes to Bollywood's menu, it's always the 'usual'. And so, more often than not, a film revolves around a hero and his younger heroine facing the trials and tribulations of the script. Sometimes, however, things get a bit 'unusual'. Instead of the hero flaunting his never-ending fountain of youth, it's the heroine's turn to romance a slightly younger guy, preferably a newcomer. While in some cases -- like that of Dharmendra-Meena Kumari and their sizzling on-screen chemistry in films like Phool Aur Patthar -- a mere three-year old difference hardly made any difference. His Bandini co-star Nutan wasn't so lucky. She made an awkward pair opposite a lanky and visibly younger Amitabh Bachchan in the parabolic Saudagar. Of course, unlike Dil Chahta Hai or Leela, this age gap isn't all that apparent nor does it form the crux of the plot. Keeping the tradition alive, the seriously sexy, if older, Bipasha Basu, 29, plays the bohemian bombshell cum live-in girlfriend to a boyish Ranbir Kapoor, 25, in Siddharth Anand's Bachna Ae Haseeno. Whether he chooses her over real girlfriend Deepika Padukone or reel girl-next-door Minnisha Lamba, we do not know yet. Meanwhile, here's looking at some other such unusual jodis. Madhuri Dixit-Akshaye Khanna, Saif Ali Khan Age is just a number. It's the difference that shows, especially in the preoccupations and prejudices of Bollywood. While it's perfectly okay for a 40-something Salman Khan to serenade some school kid in Lucky: No Time for Love, no one exactly screamed 'encore' on sighting the normally poised Dixit to romp around an uneasy bunch of boys like Akshaye Khanna (in Mohabbat) and pre-Omkara Saif Ali Khan (in Arzoo). Needless to say their tame chemistry resulted in box-office damp squibs.Sridevi-Salman Khan, Shah Rukh KhanRe-invention has interesting interpretations in our film industry. In addition to revamping their looks and wardrobe, some heroines opt to work with younger heroes to reiterate she's still got what it takes. During the latter years of Sridevi's career, she opted to play a giggly girlfriend to a couple-of-years-younger co-star Salman Khan, in silly and self-indulgent flicks like Chandramukhi and Chand Ka Tukda. Trust Sri to look ravishing all through. Ditto for her mini-skirt jig alongside Shah Rukh Khan in Army.Aishwarya Rai-Abhishek Bachchan, Vivek OberoiAsh is bestowed with abundant beauty and youth for anyone to notice (or care) about the three-year age difference between her co-star and life partner, Abhishek Bachchan. Though the on-screen sparks between them became prominent only after Mani Ratnam's Guru, it hardly deterred previous filmmakers to cast them together in mushy capers like Kuch Naa Kaho, Dhaai Akshar Prem Ke and Umrao Jaan. Earlier on, Ash basked in the affections of Vivek Oberoi, (born in same year as Bachchan Jr --1976) for Samir Karnik's Kyun...! Ho Gaya Na.Vidya Balan-Shahid KapoorFinding a suitable sweetheart for Shahid Kapoor on reel can be a tough task. Blame it on his chocolate boy appearance. Being the same age as him also doesn't help the man's cause. Ask Kareena Kapoor. Despite being only a few months older, the actor's ex-girlfriend often faced flak for them looking a complete mismatch (in Fida, 36 Chinatown, Chup Chup Ke) before Jab We Met happened and destroyed this perception. Though a couple of years older (and a constant victim of fashion disasters, which only add to her woes and years) Vidya Balan and Shahid Kapoor shared amiable, easygoing vibes in Aziz Mirza's Kismat Konnection. Still, no signs of Raj and Simran in the making.Rekha-Akshay KumarEven as Amitabh Bachchan willingly played daddy to King Kumar in Waqt and Ek Rishtaa, his most celebrated leading lady of the 1970s showed no inclination to follow suit. Instead, a super-seductive Rekha gave the more-than-a-decade-junior Akki a crash course in up, close and personal in Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi. What's more, it worked!Urmila Matondkar-Aftab ShivdasaniCashing on Urmila Matondkar's youthful exuberance, director Ram Gopal Varma wove a fantasy around a wide-eyed college boy's fascination with a celebrity actress in Mast. Urmila played the damsel in wonderland effectively. Her trendy Manish Malhotra-helmed wardrobe contributed as well. And the Rangeela girl had no problems passing off as the romantic interest of her four-years younger debutant hero, Aftab Shivdasani.Tabu-Kunal KapoorOff-beat in treatment and temperament, it is only fair that painter turned filmmaker M F Husain would gather a unconventional pair to convey the abstract workings of his imagination. That probably explains casting the ever-so-intense Tabu opposite a hunk of a newcomer, Kunal Kapoor in Meenaxi: Tale of Three Cities. The movie bombed. As for the five years age difference, did it show? You tell us. ... read more »