When you think of Bollywood, you immediately picture colour, dance, Shah Rukh Khan’s arms spread wide – and maa ki mamta. The Bollywood mother has been an important trope in all major Bollywood movies. The Bollywood mother, unlike the TV soap mother, may not bring her son back to life by praying to God but she is brave, kind and the epitome of everything that is good about Indian culture. Below, we catalogue a list of on-screen mothers who will always have a place in our hearts.
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From Indu in Masoom to Rambhi in Godmother, Azmi has taken her powerful real-life persona to the screen. Her portrayal of a mother in 15 Park Avenue was also critically acclaimed as was her quiet dignity in the heart-wrenching Neerja.
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What do you do when you find out your son is a naxalite? Jaya Bachchan starred in Hazaar Chourasi Ki Maa which was based on the story by the legendary Mahasweta Devi and dealt with this particular issue. Then, Bachchan’s reclamation of her own power in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham when she says “keh diya na, bas keh diya” is still narrated worldwide.
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Bravery doesn’t always show in battle. There is as much bravery in maintaining a pained silence as there is in raging an all out war against your own. Case in point – Hema Malini in Baghban and in Jamai Raja.
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There hasn’t been a movie that has moved an entire nation like the way Rang De Basanti has. It shaped an entire generation and while we always think of Aamir Khan we remember the movie, on Mother’s Day, let us take time out to remember Rehman’s act, especially the sequence from the heartbreaking song, Lukka Chhupi Bahut Hui.
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If Tabu is in the movie, it is bound to be a good one. Tabu’s starring role as a mother in Astitva was a crucial point in Hindi cinema which showed that mothers, too, have sexual desires and needs. Mothers have a past as much as any of us. Then, she gave us Ghazala in Haider.
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Considered India’s first female superstar, Sridevi has given us one blockbuster after another. At the end of her career, she gave us two powerful portrayals as a mother – in Mom where she took justice into her own hands and in English Vinglish where she voiced a million thoughts through Shashi.
[Featured Image Credit: Tabu]
ML Entertainment