Mothers Day Special: 12 Most Powerful On-Screen Mothers In Bollywood

The mother of all women oriented films, Mehboob Khan’s ‘Mother India’ is considered a landmark film which released in 1957 where Nargis played the iconic character of Radha, a woman of righteousness who single-handedly brings up her two kids after her husband’s demise. Despite, the hardships she refuses to sacrifice her integrity as she kills one of her sons and delivers one of the most iconic dialogues- Main beta de sakti hoon, laaj nahi de sakti. Three decades later director Mohan Kumar remade the classic as Amba with Shabana Azmi in the titular role but the film received a lukewarm response at the box-office.

‘Mera paas maa hai…’, this line sums up everything about the iconic Deewaar when Shashi Kapoor is asked by his gangster brother, Amitabh Bachchan as to what he has instead of property, wealth, etc. Nirupa Roy epitomized the role of a mother so powerfully that it became immortal on the silver screen. Her portrayal continues to give gooseflesh even after 40 years of the film’s release.

Though Waheeda had a special appearance in the film but she set the tone for this evergreen revenge drama when she realizes that she is pregnant before marriage. She gives birth to her illegitimate son, Vijay (Amitabh Bachchan) and asks him to avenge the humiliation meted out to her by his father.

This Hrishikesh Mukherjee directorial saw Dina Pathak portraying the strict disciplinarian mother of a huge joint-family who tries her best to keep the family united until Rekha enters and breaks all rules. One of Dina’s perfect motherly acts with a tinge of humour attached to it.

Rekha is betrayed by Kabir Bedi in this revenge drama only to return with a vengeance and get reunited with her two children. Rekha was at her best as the mother in this Rakesh Roshan directorial which fetched her that years Filmfare award for ‘Best Actress in a lead role’.

One of Aruna Irani’s most powerful portrayals of a mother on screen was Doodh Ka Karz which was followed up by Beta where she had negative shades. In Doodh Ka Karz she plays a snake-charmers wife who brings up her son and her pet snake to avenge her husband’s death. Jackie Shroff plays his son in this Ashok Gaikwad revenge drama which generated serpentine queues outside cinema theatres those days.

One of Jaya Prada’s memorable roles where she is killed leaving her infant baby behind. Her spirit enters her pet dog who is guided to protect her baby by the goons and seek revenge for her death. Loosely based on the Hollywood flick Ghost, Maa was one of the sleeper hits of 1991 which qualifies as one of the most powerful mother-centric​ roles that Bollywood has seen.

The late 80’s and 90’s saw Rakhee turning to mother roles where she’ll bring up her sons to avenge defeat of their father. It all started off with Dacait and Ram Lakhan as she continued to do the same in a dozen films which included Baazigar, Karan Arjun, Soldier, etc. She came to know for her ‘Nyay’ and ‘Mere Karan Arjun aayenge’ dialogues.

Who can forget the young mother in Shakti – The Power played by Karisma Kapoor who gets trapped in her husband’s village gang rivalry and somehow finds a way to escape with her five-year-old​ son. Though, the film tanked at the box-office but got a lot of accolades for the Kapoor girl.

Sridevi’s comeback film where she played a simple Indian housewife who stays in the US along with her husband and children who bully her for not knowing English. She decides to take up an English speaking course to regain her confidence as her pride is at stake.

This Omung Kumar directed biopic which was based on India’s Olympic Bronze medalist boxer; Mary Kom had Priyanka Chopra playing the titular role. The film showcased the champion boxer’s journey to the top despite having a family and two kids and facing tough situations.

Aishwarya Rai’s comeback film directed by Sanjay Gupta saw her in the role of a criminal lawyer whose daughter is abducted in return of saving a killer rapist from getting a death sentence. The film did average business but the mother character played by Aishwarya was one of the best in her career.