Tragic

Wiping away tears with the corner of her sari, scraping the bottom of the kadhai to plant the last morsel on her child’s plate even as she goes hungry for days, rushing to the temple on a windy night to hold God accountable for all her misery... the tragic mother — with the one and only Nirupa Roy defining her — springs to the top of our mind. Often functioning as a ‘super-power’ — “Mere paas Ma hain” singlehandedly puts He-Man’s “I have the power” in the shade — Nirupa Roy may have often uncharitably been referred to as the ‘queen of misery’, but when it came to dropping those tears thick and fast, she had no competition.

Telepathic

The puja chants are on in full swing, there’s the signature Dharma Productions tune playing in the background, about a 100 people packed into a room are talking... and yet when your son’s feet hits the ground, you hear it above everything else (even the whirr of the helicopter blades) and break into a smile. Telepathy is a special gift bestowed on the Bolly mother, taken to unbelievable heights by Jaya Bachchan in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, who, puja thali in hand, knows the exact moment when she has to turn to see her son (played by Shah Rukh Khan) run in through the door of their mansion (which was a British castle, by the way).

A bargain basement version of this telepathic mother is seen in a few films of the ’70s, where a mother, separated from her child, will inevitably have her ears perk up and her heart flutter whenever she senses that her child is in danger. Or is simply hungry.

Tenacious

When it comes to the Bolly mom, tenacity is almost a cliche, perhaps best exemplified by the film that is called Mother India for a reason. Nargis as Radha fights every trial and tribulation in the book to bring up her two sons. Even when everything goes south on her, Radha holds on, that frame of her with that hull on her shoulder being a definitive image that makes it to every Bollywood showcase. Najma in Secret Superstar, Vandana in Aradhana, the list goes on and on and on...

Talkative

The motormouth mom version of Geet in Jab We Met is undoubtedly Kajol, again in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, and later in Helicopter Eela and more recently, in Tribhanga. K3G gave us Kajol as Anjali who took peppy and perky a notch too high, often making us want to tape her mouth (she did win over SRK’s Rahul, though). In Helicopter Eela, her overprotective mom act meant talking nineteen to the dozen, while in Tribhanga, her constant jabbering was peppered with colourful cuss words.

Melodramatic

‘Ma da ladla bigad gaya’ went Kirron Kher’s overly melodramatic mom after discovering that her son (played by Abhishek Bachchan) was ‘gay’ in Dostana. The film’s treatment of homosexuality may have been two hours of constant facepalm, but there’s no denying that Kirron was a riot, especially when she went, “Jeete raho, phulo phalo, khair chhodo”.

She gave us another version of the over-the-top mom in Khoobsurat, doling out constant dating tips to her daughter (played by Sonam Kapoor) over her iPad. No wonder the film had a song called Maa ka phone aaya!

All-In-One

Combining the modern with the traditional — she would throw darts at a board in one scene and promptly pick up the puja thali in the next frame — Reema Lagoo was the quintessential Barjatya mom. Ever smiling, always approachable, best friend to her kids, she had lyrics like, Yeh toh sach hai ki bhagwan hai/ Hai magar phir bhi anjan hai/ Dharti pe roop ma baap ka/ Uss vidhata ki pehchan hain.... Her spotless mom image suffered a setback in Hum Saath Saath Hain where she transitioned to becoming the wicked stepmother for a few scenes, and then went back to being her familiar benevolent self.

Cool

Sridevi in English Vinglish was the quintessential cool mom, whose command over the English language may have been dodgy, but who mastered Michael Jackson’s steps perfectly, with her knee-high son for company. When she wasn’t busting moves, she was just as cool, whether it was smartly navigating her way through crowded Manhattan or firmly putting her family in place with that winner of a speech at the end.

Forever hopeful of revenge

If “Mere Karan Arjun aayenge” has made it to Bolly history with as much impact as “Kitne aadmi thhe?” and “Main apni favourite hoon”, then it’s all courtesy Rakhee, with her grieving mother act in the ’80s and ’90s, most memorably in Karan Arjun. Rakhee’s almost deranged mom running through the village, blood smeared on her forehead, in the Rakesh Roshan film starring Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan, is an image we can’t forget (though we rather would).

Add to the list of types of Bolly mothers and tell us at t2@abp.in

Is Bollywood even Bollywood without these ‘Ma’ dialogues?

‣ Ma, mujhe naukri mil gayi, ma

‣ Ma ke khane mein jo swaad hain woh aur kahin nahin

‣ Agar ma ka doodh piya hain toh saamne aa

‣ Ma, main first class first aaya hoon

‣ Yeh meri ma ke kangan hain. Kaha tha nayi naveli dulhan ko de dena

‣ Bachhe ko toh humne bacha liya par ma ko nahin bacha sakey

‣ Ghar mein ma behen nahin hai kya?

‣ Main tumhari bachhe ki ma bann ne waali hoon

‣ Tujhe teri ma ki kasam

‣ Jis ma ne tujhe nau mahine kokh mein rakha, tujhe janam diya, aaj tu ne usi ko hi bhula diya?

‣ Tumhari ma hamare kabze mein hain

‣ Ma dekho main tumhare liye bahu laya hoon

‣ Ekbaar mujhe ma kehkar pukaro, beta

Add to the list at t2@abp.in