The following post was originally published on our partner website India.com.
A Bollywood maa is highly emotional, dramatic and manages to cry in a jiffy. Her prayers have magical results and the halwa she makes is the best in town. To make things simple, a typical Bollywood mom is like a box of delectable assorted chocolates—open the box cautiously and savor the intense nuggets of various flavors simultaneously.
With changing trends in Hindi cinema, even the role of maa drastically changed. The much loved Bollywood mom of yesteryear, Nirupa Roy, was often seen in distress or making sacrifices for her child, however, the new age maa is more confident and can actively take on the world to protect her children. Aishwarya Rai played an anguished legal eagle in “Jazbaa”—a mother who has the courage to protect her daughter from all evils.
Hindi cinema has portrayed several kinds of moms, after all, the role of a maa is a quintessential element of an Indian household. Our life revolves around our mother’s—home is where mom is, right?
To celebrate Mother’s Day, we compiled a list of your favorite Bollywood moms!
1. Smita Jaykar
Bollywood’s most beautiful mom’s, Smita Jaykar, played the role Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s mom in the film “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.” The performance is unforgettable—she was strict, extremely loving, a dear friend to her daughter in the movie and did complete justice to the role.
2. Farida Jalal
Farida Jalal is the cutest Bollywood mom for sure. She’s known for playing the sweet mom who pampers her children, never tries to control their lives, but rather supports them in finding their happiness. In the movie “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai,” she played the role of Shahrukh’s mom, who plays a vital role in reuniting her son with his college best friend. She was also Kajol’s supportive mom in the epic love story “Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge.”
3. Reema Lagoo
Rajshri production’s favorite maa—Reema Lagoo, started her career doing comic roles in tv serials like “Shrimaan Shrimati,” then went on to become Bollywood’s iconic maa with her performance in the movie “Maine Pyaar Kiya,” in which she played Salman Khan’s mother. Lagoo has actually played mom to many of the Khan’s multiple times as she was also Salman Khan’s mother in “Judwa,” “Sajaan” and “Patthar Ka Phool.” She also played Salman Khan and Saif Ali Khan’s mom in “Hum Saath Saath Hai,” Salman Khan’s mother-in-law in “Hum Aapke Hai Kaun,” and even Shah Rukh Khan’s mom in “Yes Boss” and in “Kal Ho Na Ho.”
4. Jaya Bachchan
After having played the leading lady in several successful Bollywood films, Jaya Bachchan had no qualms about playing a mother to the current generation of leading actors. She has played a mother to Hrithik Roshan in “Fiza,” Preity Zinta in “Kal Ho Na Ho,” Shahrukh Khan in “Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham.” One of her unforgettable performances is in “Ek Chaurasi Ki Maa.”
5. Zohra Sehgal
https://youtu.be/IUnNmb3IqR8
A real timeless beauty who played a mother to Amitabh Bachchan in movies like Cheeni Kum and K3G. This maa, passed away at the age of 102 in 2014. She has not only acted in various Bollywood hits but also in cross-over cinema like “Bend it Like Beckham” and “Tandoori Nights.”
Poorvi Adavi is a freelance web content writer and editor in San Diego, CA. She is inspired by observing people around her and being aware of things happening in the world. She has completed her Masters in Communication from Christ University and also has a Business Management Certificate from UC San Diego.
March 20, 2023March 21, 2023 4min readBy Nida Hasan
If you are a South Asian, born in the ’80s or the early ’90s, chances are your ideas of love and romance are heavily influenced by Hindi films — that first gaze, the secret love notes, that accidental meeting somewhere in Europe, over-the-top gestures and dancing around trees. While reality may have been far from what was promised on reel, you still can’t stop pining over a hopeless romantic, with chocolate boy looks, chasing you across the earth and many universes; in the life here and the ones after. Somewhere deep down, you still dream of that possibility despite your husband sitting and sipping his morning coffee right next to you. And much of the credit for weaving this dreamland, that we can’t resist happily sliding into, goes to the legendary Yash Chopra. Award-winning filmmaker Smriti Mundhra’s docu-series, “The Romantics,” that released on Netflix on February 14, chronicles Chopra’s prolific career; offering an illuminating look into the highs and lows of his journey, his unblemished vision for Hindi cinema and sheer love for filmmaking.
I wanted to look at Indian cinema through the lens of it being a major contributor to the global cinema canon and Yash Chopra seemed like the perfect lens to explore that because of the longevity of his career and the fact that he had worked across so many different genres. His films, for so many of us, defined what Hindi cinema is.
— Smriti Mundhra
As “The Romantics” unveils, in a mere episode — a challenging feat in itself — Chopra did experiment with multiple genres as a budding filmmaker, initially under the shadows of his elder brother B.R. Chopra. From the religiously sensitive “Dharamputra” and the trendsetting “Waqt” to the action-packed and iconic “Deewaar.” It wasn’t until later on in his career that he set a precedent for a Hindi film having a wholly romantic narrative; though “Waqt” did offer the perfect glimpse into what would go on to become Chopra’s cinematic imprint. And then came “Chandni” which ushered in a new era for Hindi cinema; defying the formulaic approach to box office success and making love stories the golden goose.
In the words of more than 30 famous faces, a host of archival videos and interviews, and personal anecdotes, audiences get an extensive insight into the life and career of Yash Chopra and the evolution of his vision through the business acumen and genius of his polar opposite son and a famous recluse, Aditya Chopra. “The Romantics” is not a fancy portrait of a legendary filmmaker but an exploration of what goes into making a successful film family and a path-breaking production house. As viewers, we not only get a peek into the making of a fantasy creator but also learn of the many failures, hurdles and uncertainties that the business of filmmaking comes packaged in, the impact of socio-political shifts on the kind of content being produced and demanded, and just how much control we have as an audience over the fate of the film and the filmmaker.
For both the uninitiated and fanatics, there are some interesting revelations like Shah Rukh Khan’s lifelong desire to become an action hero as opposed to a romantic one and the creative conflict between Aditya Chopra and his father Yash Chopra on the sets of “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jaayenge” — a project that, surprisingly, did not seem too promising to the latter. Mundhra penetrates deep into the family’s history and industry relationships evoking some really candid conversations; almost as if these celebs were eagerly waiting for their moment to speak. With one appraising interview after the other, it’s a panegyric that does border on being a tad tedious but there is enough depth and fodder in there to keep one hooked. Kudos to Mundhra for managing to achieve cohesion despite there being more than enough material to chew on. In the process of bringing this project to life, Mundhra also ends up achieving a number of milestones: one that the series features the last of actor Rishi Kapoor’s interviews and two, it brings Aditya Chopra, who, it appears, can talk a blue streak contrary to popular belief, to the front of the camera after almost two decades. The moment when he puts the nepotism debate to rest by referring to his brother’s catastrophic attempt at acting is quite the show-stealer.
At some point during the four-episode series, you might question if it’s fair to credit the Yash Raj family for being the only real changemakers of the Hindi film industry and for picking up the baton to get Hindi cinema the global recognition that it has. But then there is no denying the Chopra clan’s body of work, their ability to understand what pleases the crowd and their commitment towards growth and progress amidst changing times and technology — Yash Raj Studios is in fact the only privately held and one of the biggest, state-of-the-art film studios in India. Chopra’s career and legacy are in no way under-lit that Mundhra can claim to throw new light on with “The Romantics.” But what she really has on offer here are sheer nostalgia, some fascinating discoveries and an ode to a cinephile and his art with a bit of fan service.
In an interview with Brown Girl Magazine, Mundhra discusses why it was so important for Chopra to be the subject of her docu-series, her own learnings during the series’ research and creative process and her accomplishment of getting Aditya Chopra to talk, and that too, at length.
Poorvi Adavi is a freelance web content writer and editor in San Diego, CA. She is inspired by observing people around her and being aware of things happening in the world. She has completed her Masters in Communication from Christ University and also has a Business Management Certificate from UC San Diego. 
