Mothers Day Special: Bollywoodâs most iconic screen mothers

Bollywood has influenced they way we express ourselves in our lives. Despite the extra pinch of drama, we always relate to Bollywood with the experiences we have in our day to lives. We relate to situations and characters in Bollywood movies which in some way or another have a similarity to events that occur in our lives. While every character portrayed is special in their own way, the one that stands out from the rest is the one of a mother. Despite a lot of experiments and portrayals of different shades, the mother’s character has always been a one of respect, care, nurture and love in Bollywood. So, on the occasion of mothers day we list some of some of our favourite on screen mothers of Bollywood who became as synonymous with playing mothers as Amrish Puri was with playing villain. Check it out! 

Achala Sachdev 

She is most remembered for featuring in the hit song “Ae meri zohra jabeen” from the film Waqt, where she played an unfortunate mother who looses everyone except one child in an earthquake. Besides Waqt, she was also seen in films like Arzoo and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. People also remember her for playing Kajol’s grandmother in the iconic love story Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. 


Nirupa Roy 

If there would be a title for Bollywood’s Best Mom, Nirupa Roy sure would be the best fit. She became the first choice for a mother’s role and was seen in the majority of Bollywood films of the 70’s and 80’s. She even ended up playing reel life mother to Amitabh Bachchan for almost a decade. She also earned the tag - The Queen Of Misery thanks to her excellent performances on the big screen in films like Maa, Mard, Deewaar, Do Bigha Zamin, Amar Akbar Anthony, Suhaag, Gumraah, Mukddar ka Sikandar.

Leela Mishra 

The Mausiji of Bollywood - Leela Mishra was one of the most accomplished actors during the golden era of Bollywood. Even though she played the role of an aunt more often than the mother, she successfully was able to portray the persona of a typical Indian mother back then. She was seen in over 150 movies like Khamoshi, Chitralekha, Ghunghat, Bahar, Awara, Daag, Shikast but her most popular character is of Mausiji in Sholay. 

Sulochana Latkar

After Nirupa Roy, Sulochana Latkar was the go to on screen mother for film makers in the 70’s. Similar to Nirupa, Sulochana too portrayed the roles of either a widowed mother of the main lead in the films or a woman who has experienced a lot of atrocities and miseries in life. Her most popular films include the likes of Majboor, Muqaddar Ka Sikander, Aasha, and Johny Mera Naam.

Nutan 

Nutan without a doubt is one of the biggest names in the history of Bollywood. She started her career as a lead actress and won the hearts of people all over the country thanks to her spell binding beauty and acting skills. She also went on to bag five Filmfare awards for Best Actress  In A Leading Role. However, in the latter stages of her career, she was seen portraying the roles like the mother of the film’s lead. In fact, some of the biggest hits of her career were films like like Meri Jung and Karma in which she played the role of a mother.

Dina Phatak 

Do you remember the bold and extremely strict mother from Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Khubsoorat? Well, that character was portrayed by Dina Phatak. Dina Phatak was one of the most accomplished actress in Hindi as well as Gujarati cinema. Unlike many other moms mentioned in the list, Dina was many times bold as well as funny in her portrayal of an Indian mother swaying away from the usual more depressing characters we saw in Bollywood films. Other than Khubsoorat, she is also remembered for roles in Gol Maal, Koshish, Umrao Jaan, Mirch Masala, and Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho.

Waheeda Rehman

Waheeda Rehman was another brilliant actress who gave us some spectacular performances on the big screen. Like Nutan, Waheeda too started off as a lead actress in the early stages of her career. Later, as years passed on, she made several appearances in movies as a mother. Her most notable roles as an Bollywood mother came in movies like Mashaal, Kabhi Kabhie, Rang De Basanti and Chandni. 

Farida Jalal

Farida Jalal has got to be the cutest mother in the list as her bubbly attitude set her apart from the usual onscreen Indian mothers. 

Like the case with Nutan earlier, Farida Jalal became the default Indian mom for Bollywood movies released in the 90’s as well as early 2000’s. Her role as Kajol’s mother in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge also earned a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. 

Reema Lagoo 

Reema Lagoo carved out a niche for herself in Hindi as well as Marathi cinema due to her excellent acting skills. She established herself as the default mother in almost all the Rajshri films in the 90’s. Whether it was Maine Pyar Kiya or Hum Aapke Hain Koun, Reema always played her character with grace and simplicity. Even though she was seen as a humble, loveable and down to earth lady in most of her roles, we saw a negative shade explored in her performance in Hum Saath Saath Hai.

Rakhee 

“Mere Karan Arjun Aayenge” is the phrase popularised by Rakhee Gulzar as the unfortunate mother of two children who die at the hands of evil Thakur in the film Karan Arjun. Just like many actors on the list, Rakhee started off as a lead actress and was seen playing a Bollywood mother in the latter years of her career. 

Jaya Bachchan 

After her successful career in the movies, Jaya took a short leave from the silver screen when she experienced motherhood in real life. However, the real-life mother made her come back with Karan Johar’s Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. She also delivered a stellar performance as Preity Zinta’s mother in Kal Ho Na Ho. 

Nargis

And finally, the mother of all mothers - Mother India. She played the iconic character of a mother in the movie in which she strongly and single handedly raises her two sons against all odds. Her work definitely forms an important part in the history of Indian cinema.

from filmfares http://bit.ly/2Ypnbq5