All the bashing and hate hurled at actress Yasra Rizvi for marrying someone younger than her has enraged me. She’s 34, and he’s 24…so what? Why has age difference between two people become such a stigma in this day and age?

Modern dating is hard enough as it is, in Pakistan.

These days lust is mistaken for love, and ‘hanging out’ has become an easy out for all commitment-phobes. Connecting to someone on a much more profound level in such a fickle and feigned society is a rarity.

As long as you aren’t breaking any rules (so for all the minor teens in relationships with fifty year-olds, scroll on by), then what’s the problem?

Despite being a relatively old film, this dialogue from Cheeni Kum serves as a timeless lesson for all us desis. Age is literally just a number.

So what happens when you do find that someone who is either much older or much younger than you?

When a girl dates someone much younger she’s labelled as a cougar, and when she’s reeled in an elder fish then she’s suddenly a slut or a gold digger. A boy dating someone much younger is often misconstrued as the creepy pedophile, while the one dating the hot, much older auntie (or the divorced MILF) is welcomed with impulsive looks of disgust and disapproval because he’s probably just in it for carnal galore.

We need to let these petty things go.

Let’s take a hypothetical example. If you’re a gal or a guy in your twenties who bumps into a dashing potential life partner who still unleashes their inner childlike wonders yet balances it discerningly with levelheadedness BUT they just might be, well, 10 years older, then don’t be quick to dismiss.

As human beings we tend to look for all the similarities when it comes to looking for someone we can call home – and that’s where things tend to roll downhill. I’ve met so many people who’ve let go of ones they really got along with because of an age difference, and the notion of log kya kahenge attached.

Here are some famous couples, other than the awesome Yasra Rizvi and her husband, who haven’t let age gaps get the best of them

Aamir and Kiran

Dilip and Saira

Dharmendra and Hema

You need to look at the person for their heart.

You love who you love; and if someone makes you feel alive then there’s nothing more important (I cannot emphasize keeping it legal enough, simmer down if you’re doing something that could land you in jail).

If you’re in it for the right intention, then who cares what people say. Especially this belittling Pakistani qaum we unfortunately reside in. Period. We have to stop blindly inheriting our deprecating elders’ habit of picking apart everything and anything and start thinking for ourselves.

What do you guys think of age factoring into love?