Sunday, 10 May 2026
Sunday, 10 May 2026
For decades, mainstream cinema portrayed mothers as self-sacrificing, endlessly forgiving and existing solely for their families. But over the years, Indian films have reimagined motherhood through more layered, unconventional characters.
This Mother’s Day, here’s a look at five on-screen mothers who broke stereotypes and gave audiences some of Indian cinema’s most unforgettable portrayals of motherhood.
Kajol in Salaam Venky (2022)
Salaam Venky featured Kajol as Kolavennu Sujata Krishnan, a single mother caring for her son Venky, who suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
What made Sujata stand apart from stereotypical Bollywood mothers was her resilience. Rather than being portrayed solely as a self-sacrificing or helpless caregiver, she is shown as a fiercely determined, outspoken mother, who is deeply involved in her son’s fight against the state and the law of the country.
Venkatesh is supposed to die by the age of 16. Instead, his zest for life, determination, and soaring human spirit surprise medical science. The ever-smiling Venkatesh wants to donate his organs before he leaves this world. At 24-years-old, his fight for dignity earns him a place in the hearts of people.
Kajol’s character in the Revathi-directed slice-of-life film balanced vulnerability with strength, presenting motherhood as both exhausting and empowering.
Vidya Balan in Kahaani 2 (2016)
In Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahaani 2, Vidya Balan played Vidya Sinha, a protective single mother caring for her paralysed daughter Minnie (Tunisha Sharma).
What made the character unconventional was the way the film blended motherhood with suspense, trauma and survival. Vidya is not portrayed as the stereotypical soft-spoken or dependent mother figure; instead, she is resourceful, secretive and willing to go to extreme lengths to find her adopted daughter, who is kidnapped at the start of the film, and protect her from abuse and exploitation.
As the story unfolds, the film reveals layers of Vidya’s identity and past, turning her into both an emotional anchor and the driving force of the thriller.
Sridevi in Mom (2017)
In Mom, Sridevi played Devki Sabarwal, a biology teacher popular among her students at school. However, her relationship with her teenage stepdaughter daughter Arya (Sajal Aly) is emotionally distant at first as Arya still misses her biological mother.
What makes Devki stand out as a mother character is her complexity and intensity. She is not shown as the passive, docile, endlessly forgiving Bollywood mother. She is fierce, flawed and willing to kill to seek justice for her daughter, who is brutally assaulted. Devki and Arya’s relationship is not defined by a bond of blood. But Devki is ready to sacrifice her life if it means avenging Arya’s rape in the Ravi Udyawar directorial.
Swara Bhasker in Nil Battey Sannata (2015)
In Nil Battey Sannata, directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, Swara Bhasker played Chanda Sahay, a single mother and domestic worker who dreams of giving her daughter Apu (Riya Shukla) a better future through education.
But Chanda is not someone who despairs over her situation or blames destiny for her impoverished state. She is driven by determination and fierce willpower. Her strength of spirit and unconventional approach to parenting define her. Instead of simply lecturing her daughter about studies, Chanda enrolls in the same school and class as Apu to motivate her to take education seriously.
The film moves away from melodramatic portrayals of motherhood and instead highlights the struggles of working-class single mothers, many of whom work more than one shift to make ends meet. As the story unfolds, Chanda’s strained relationship with her daughter improves, and the two pass school together. While Apu goes on to become an IAS officer, Chanda becomes a maths tutor who provides free tuition to struggling students.
When Apu is asked what inspired her to appear for UPSC examinations, she says it was her mother.
Neena Gupta in Badhaai Ho (2018)
In Badhaai Ho, Neena Gupta’s Priyamvada Kaushik is a middle-aged mother whose unexpected pregnancy becomes the centre of family and social gossip.
Priyamvada broke stereotypes with the way she addressed female desire, intimacy and motherhood among older women — subjects Bollywood has often ignored or treated as comic relief. While the situation creates embarrassment for her elder son Nakul Kaushik (Ayushmann Khurrana), Priyamvada herself upholds her dignity.
The Amit Ravindernath Sharma-directed film challenged ageist assumptions surrounding motherhood and marriage by showing that romance, sexuality and family life do not end for women after a certain age.
