In the late ’80s, Bollywood witnessed the emergence of some new and talented actresses who gave a new color and dimension to the mother’s role in Bollywood. The first actress in this category is Reema Lagoo, who came from Marathi theater and films. She made her debut in Bollywood in 1980 with parallel cinema. However, she failed to make her presence known, but in 1988 her career took a twist after she switched to playing mother roles. In Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988), she won rave reviews as Juhi Chawla‘s mother. Further, with the huge success of blockbuster Maine Pyar Kiya (1989) and Saajan (1991), where she played Salman Khan‘s mother, she became a popular Bollywood mother.
Rebel Moms: Redefining Motherhood in Bollywood
She did many roles of the mother, like Gumrah (1993) as Sridevi‘s mother, Jai Kishen (1994) as Akshay Kumar’s mother, and Rangeela (1995) as Milind Soman’s mother. Her hit films include Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994), Yeh Dillagi (1994), Dilwale (1994), Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), and Kal l HThe movie003). She immortalized herself as a New Age Mother with Vaastav: The Reality (1999), where she portrayed a mother to a gangster son (Sanjay Dutt). The film won her first Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. After this film, she took over the crown of most popular Bollywood mother from Nirupa Roy!!
Rohini Hattangadi, another Marathi actress who tudied acting at India’s prestigious National School of Drama (NSD) in New Delhi, won international acclaim for her towering performance as Kasturba Gandhi in the Hollywood film Gandhi (1982), directed by Richard Attenborough. Later, in 1984, Hattangadi did another similar role of an aged Modern Modern mothers in Mahesh Bhatt‘s Saaransh (1984); the role fetched her a Filmfare nomination, and in 1990, she played an aging Modern mothers of Amitabh Bachchan in Agneepath, for which she was awarded her Filmfare Award, and this stereotyped her in motherly roles. Her other memorable roles include Rajkumar Hirani‘s directorial debut, Munnabhai MBBS (2003), in which she played Sanjay Dutt‘s Modern mothers.
Strong, Independent, and Real: New Age Morden Mothers
Though Kirron Kher made her film debut in 1983 with Punjabi film Aasra Pyaar Da, she failed to make a mark till 2002. In between, she even won a National Film Award for Shyam Benegal‘s film Sardari Begum (1996), but stardom eluded her. She finally achieved success after nearly 20 years, thanks to her dynamic performance in Devdas (2002) alongside Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit, and Aishwarya Rai, earning her a Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award nomination. After this, she never looked back. She kicked aside the sobbing mother and introduced a Modern mothers with a touch of humor in films like Hum Tum, Rang De Basanti, KhSingh, D. K., Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, etc. The audience went gaga over her hilarious dialogues and comic timing. She has also pulled off roles with serious undertones with ease, like in Fanaa and Veer Zaara.
Modern Motherhood: Breaking Barriers on Screen
Farida Jalal is the latest actress who is hogging the limelight as a mother after she won huge applause as Biwi Gul in Raj Kapoor‘s film Henna (1991). In this film, she played a Pakistani lady who lovingly takes care of a Hindu Indian boy (Rishi Kapoor) as her own son. The film won her a Filmfare Award and opened the door to a successful second inning in Bollywood. Kajol was initially typecast as a sissy, but later she was seen as a loving mother. She won a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1995 for Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. Some of her notable films include Raja Hindustani, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, and Dil To Pagal Hai. She also won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance for Mammo.
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