Shruti Haasan on Life and Work in Her 40s: “I Always Looked at Careers of Women Being Much More Interesting”

As Shruti Haasan enters her 40s, the actor is looking at the next phase of her career through a perspective shaped by the women she has admired over the years. In a conversation with Soha Ali Khan, Haasan opened up about whether entering her 40s has changed the professional environment around her, the roles coming her way and the way she is perceived as an actor.

“The thing I find exciting is maybe it was just my good fortune that I always looked at careers of women being much more interesting,” Haasan said, reflecting on how her perspective towards women’s careers was shaped early on.

For Haasan, age was never something she associated with a fixed endpoint. She recalled how, even in her 20s, she was drawn to women who continued to evolve professionally well beyond the conventional timelines associated with women in the industry. “Past 40, even in my 20s I was like, oh look at Kate Plant, look what she’s doing. She did all that past 35, 36,” she said.

She went on to speak about the musicians who shaped this perspective, pointing to artists whose careers have continued to evolve across decades. “Even musicians, Madonna, who is like one of my biggest influencers, Aasha ji, whoever you say, these women just did not have a number on them. So that by default became my template.”

That outlook has clearly influenced the way Haasan approaches her own career. Rather than viewing 40 as a definitive marker, her comments reflect an understanding of womanhood and professional growth as something that can continue to evolve with time. For her, the women she looked up to offered a different template one where age did not define the scope of their careers or the possibilities ahead.