Where Bollywood Comes Alive
Posts tagged single mom
Evolution of Maa to Mom in Bollywood
02 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
BOMBAY TIMES (May 8, 2011)
Mere Paas maa hain… Javed Akhtar’s famous dialogue had Indians hooked since Deewar released way back in 1975. More than three decades after this scene became a part of Bollywood folklore, things have changed manifold as far as the role of mothers go. Maa ke haath ka banaya hua kheer isn’t staple in this age of Brand Bollywood. But that does not mean this industry has forgotten maa totally.
The avatar of maa has undergone mammoth changes. Today’s sexy, bold and confident single moms — as played by Vidya Balan in Paa, Priyanka Chopra in Pyaar Impossible, Kajol in My Name is Khan and We Are Family, Lara Dutta in Partner and Preity Zinta in Jaan-E-Mann — has shifted the spotlight completely from a Nirupa Roy in a crumpled cotton saree shedding tears over her morally corrupt son on the wrong side of law. The cool moms, as played by these actresses, are all fiercely independent characters who are in complete control of their lives without their man. In an industry often accused of misogyny, this is possibly the most positive change that’s slowly gaining ground.
The increasingly discerning audiences are looking for variety in scripts and maturity in characters as much as the directors are writing roles keeping this wider horizon of New Age India in mind.
The biggest affirmation of this change is the fact that mainstream actresses like Kajol, Priyanka Chopra, Vidya Balan, Preity Zinta aren’t shying away from More >