Shabana Azmi and Manisha Koirala effectively played unconventional on-screen mothers in Bhavna and Akele Hum Akele Tum respectively.
Highlights
- From Amrita Singh to Kirron Kher, on-screen mothers have dared to break the conventional mould.
- Here's a list of films which presented mothers in an unconventional way:
- Kal Ho Naa Ho: Lilette Dubey played a hip bohemian NRI mother named Jazz who competed with her overweight daughter Delnaaz Irani to get male attention. It was all done in the spirit of fun though.
- Devdas: Kirron Kher bustled around the house attending to leaky roofs and cracking finances, cracked jokes in front of her introverted husband and broke into a dance at her affluent neighbour's get-together. This was a mother with a difference. This was a mom who wore the pants in the family.
- 2 States: Amrita Singh in 2 States played a loud and opinionated woman. When her son introduced her to his future wife's parents, her remarks became embarrassing in their bigotry and prejudice. There was nothing demure about this on-screen mom. This was a woman who was not obliged to behave like a screen mother. She was outspoken in her biases, uncontrollable in her opinions. She was a mom without qualms.
- Aandhiyan: When in 1990, Mumtaz decided to make a comeback, she played a hip single mother, singing songs and acting in a most un-motherly fashion with Prosenjit Chatterjee who played her son.
- Kaagaz Ki Nao: Way back in 1975, Helen played a single mother in this bold B R Ishara film. She dared to have a love life in the film. When daughter Sarika saw her mother having sex she could not bear the humanization of the traditional mother-goddess figure. Sarika's character committed suicide.
- Bhavna: In the film directed by Vikram Bhatt's father Pravin Bhatt, the sari-clad morally inhibited mother turned into a stylish hooker in slit gowns and outlandish wigs to give her son a decent life after she was abandoned by her husband. One of Shabana Azmi's most powerful performances.
- Apnapan: Reena Roy's stellar performance as a mother who preferred a career to the role of a home-maker. Of course, the script made her suffer and sob for her sin. But Reena's spirited performance imbued the mother-figure with flesh, blood and bite.
- Akele Hum Akele Tum: Manisha Koirala gave up her career to be a home-maker for Aamir Khan and their six-year-old son. But when boredom set in, she left without the child. Shockingly unconventional, the film directed by Mansoor Khan, was inspired by Kramer vs Kramer. The mother in the original, played by Meryl Streep, was denied custody of her child. In the Indian version, mom Manisha came back home. All was forgiven.
- Listen... Amaya: A widowed Deepti Naval with a grown up daughter told the latter that she wanted to remarry. The daughter Swara Bhaskar's shock, revulsion and refusal to accept that her mother was entitled to a life beyond that of a mother was symptomatic of a society that deified the mother figure at the cost of her personal happiness.
- Dil Chahta Hai: She was divorced, lonely and often drunk. And because of all of the above Dimple Kapadia was not allowed to meet her child by her husband. This was a real mother. She was allowed to be selfish and human. More power to director Farhan Akhtar.
From Amrita Singh to Kirron Kher, on-screen mothers have dared to break the conventional mould. (Also read:
The Most Famous Bollywood Mothers)
Here's a list of films which presented mothers in an unconventional way:
Kal Ho Naa Ho: Lilette Dubey played a hip bohemian NRI mother named Jazz who competed with her overweight daughter Delnaaz Irani to get male attention. It was all done in the spirit of fun though.
Devdas: Kirron Kher bustled around the house attending to leaky roofs and cracking finances, cracked jokes in front of her introverted husband and broke into a dance at her affluent neighbour's get-together. This was a mother with a difference. This was a mom who wore the pants in the family.
2 States: Amrita Singh in
2 States played a loud and opinionated woman. When her son introduced her to his future wife's parents, her remarks became embarrassing in their bigotry and prejudice. There was nothing demure about this on-screen mom. This was a woman who was not obliged to behave like a screen mother. She was outspoken in her biases, uncontrollable in her opinions. She was a mom without qualms.
Aandhiyan: When in 1990, Mumtaz decided to make a comeback, she played a hip single mother, singing songs and acting in a most un-motherly fashion with Prosenjit Chatterjee who played her son.
Kaagaz Ki Nao: Way back in 1975, Helen played a single mother in this bold B R Ishara film. She dared to have a love life in the film. When daughter Sarika saw her mother having sex she could not bear the humanization of the traditional mother-goddess figure. Sarika's character committed suicide.
Bhavna: In the film directed by Vikram Bhatt's father Pravin Bhatt, the sari-clad morally inhibited mother turned into a stylish hooker in slit gowns and outlandish wigs to give her son a decent life after she was abandoned by her husband. One of Shabana Azmi's most powerful performances.
Apnapan: Reena Roy's stellar performance as a mother who preferred a career to the role of a home-maker. Of course, the script made her suffer and sob for her sin. But Reena's spirited performance imbued the mother-figure with flesh, blood and bite.
Akele Hum Akele Tum: Manisha Koirala gave up her career to be a home-maker for Aamir Khan and their six-year-old son. But when boredom set in, she left without the child. Shockingly unconventional, the film directed by Mansoor Khan, was inspired by
Kramer vs Kramer. The mother in the original, played by Meryl Streep, was denied custody of her child. In the Indian version, mom Manisha came back home. All was forgiven.
Listen... Amaya: A widowed Deepti Naval with a grown up daughter told the latter that she wanted to remarry. The daughter Swara Bhaskar's shock, revulsion and refusal to accept that her mother was entitled to a life beyond that of a mother was symptomatic of a society that deified the mother figure at the cost of her personal happiness.
Dil Chahta Hai: She was divorced, lonely and often drunk. And because of all of the above Dimple Kapadia was not allowed to meet her child by her husband. This was a real mother. She was allowed to be selfish and human. More power to director Farhan Akhtar.