Preity Zinta says if female actors devote as much time as their male counterparts to the film career, it would be possible for heroines to have a longer shelf-life. The 43-years-old actor said the fact that the society is still patriarchal makes it tough for women to pursue their careers and same is the case with movie stars.

"If a female actor dedicates that many years then she would also (get that kind of stardom). Lot of actresses get married, have children, take a break. I personally took quite a few years of break. One has to compare apples to apples. You can't compare apples to oranges. The moment an actress gets married and has children she is taking care of the children, she is out of circulation," Preity told PTI in an interview.