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The mother in Hindi films has traditionally been a deified figure – a beloved woman of a certain age, who upholds tradition and custom. She was often portrayed as a one-note character: the all suffering, all sacrificing woman who subsumes her personhood in service of the men around her. Happily though, the mother of Bollywood films has come a long way since the archetypal ‘khasti hui dikhiyari ma’ (the coughing long-suffering mother).
The long-suffering mother
The ‘mamta ki moorat’ mother was the one who slaved away at the sewing machine to keep her children fed. She is the one who continued to stay true to even the drunken abusive husband, because that was her ‘duty’. She toiled and starved for her children and continued to adore them even when the turned out to be rotten. This mother archetype was seen to be either ill or ill-treated, and was forever flinging herself either at people’s feet or at their mercy.
She was played by Leela Chitnis in Awara, in Maa (wherein she is seen as a maid in her own son’s house), Sadhna and many others. Durga Khote, Achala Sachdev, Sulochna Latkar, and Nirupa Roy were frequently roped in to play the teary-eyed tyaag ki moorat ma (ideal of sacrifice).
The morally upright mother
This mother archetype was seen as strong in some ways but always conflicted. Nirupa Roy in Deewar, us the morally upright mother rebukes her beloved son for his wayward ways to side with the one who upholds the law. In Mother India Nargis’s character shoots her own son because he is in the wrong. In Naam, Nutan does right by the illegitimate son when she sees the reprehensible ways of her own son.
The matriarch
No one did this better than Dina Pathak. Whether she was the stern martinet of Khubsoorat or the playful theatre loving pretend mother of Golmaal, the mother of a courtesan in Umao Jaan or the quiet supporter of women in Mirch Masala. We also saw Waheeda Rehman in strong mother roles in Mashaal, Kabhi Kabhie, Delhi 6 and so on. Then there have also been the lesser matriarchs who, while seen as commanding obedience are still very much secondary to the patriarchs. Think Jaya Bachchan in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham or Reema Lagoo in some of the Rajshri films.
The modern mother
Over the years we have seen a lot of modern thinking, progressive mother portrayals in Hindi films. We’ve seen Lillete Dubey as the cool mom in movies like Kal Ho Na Ho and playing progressive, modern characters in Monsoon Wedding, My Brother…Nikhil. Ratna Pathak Shah has played realistic mother roles in films like Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na, Kapoor & Sons and Lipstick Under My Burkha and several other movies.
The overlooked mother
The overlooked, undermined woman; frequently mocked and always taken for granted was perhaps most beautifully portrayed by Sridevi in English Vinglish. Her character taking those small but significant steps towards reclaiming personhood and her own self-respect and the respect of her family was gratifying and painfully familiar. Neena Gupta as the older mother in Badhai Ho was similarly overlooked as a woman; she was meant to be only a mother.
The homicidal/unhinged mother
In recent times, we have had several movies where the mother is shown as a vigilante bent on wreaking vengeance upon those who wronged her children. There was Sridevi in Mom, Raveena Tandon in Maatr. Then of course there was slightly unhinged Shamshu of Darlings played by the always-amazing Shefali Shah.
While I may personally dislike the vigilante-mother format, other portrayals of mothers in recent years have been refreshing. Rather than the long-suffering, sacrificing mother of yore, we now see far more realistic portrayals of women are humans with their own quirks, desires, aspirations and very importantly, with agency. Neena Gupta as the older pregnant woman, Shefali Shah as the fiercely protective mother using whatever means possible are very human.
Happily Bollywood no longer sees he need to idolise and elevate mothers to some mythical, superhuman status. Many recent films have also moved away from showing women as upholders of ‘tradition’ which is code for the patriarchy. Mothers don’t have to be sad. They can be happy, they can enjoy life, be sexually active and be unapologetic about it all.
This Mother’s Day, we can give the khansti hui dukhiyrai maa a wide berth. Instead, we can opt for films like Badhaai Ho, Badhai Do, Dil Dhadakne Do, The Sky Is Pink, Nil Battey Sannata, Secret Superstar and many others – cheers to these very interesting, very human Bollywood mothers — and may their tribe grow.
These pieces are being published as they have been received – they have not been edited/fact-checked by ThePrint.
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