(##include msid=2162032,type=11 ##) Hema Malini and Esha Deol (TOI Photo) More pics Soha Ali Khan was first packed off to London to work in a bank before her mom’s vocation beckoned her back It started with Shobhana Samarth. Then came her two daughters Nutan and Tanuja, followed by progenies Mohnish Behl and Kajol-Tanisha. But daughters from the film industry tend to be kept out of the limelight. While Dharmendra’s sons are high-profile celebrities, his only daughter remains totally out of the limelight. The only actor who proudly brought his daughter out into show-world was Jagdish Raj whose daughter Anita Raj was a successful leading lady. Even screen-mothers have been protective, if not paranoid about their daughter’s ambitions. Soha Ali Khan was first packed off to London to work in a bank before her mom’s vocation beckoned her back to Bollywood. But no one has cast them together as yet. Mothers and daughters have always bonded more off than on screen. Filmmaker Deepa Mehta and her daughter Devyani share a very special alchemy. When Devyani decided to write a book on her mother’s troubled marriage and break-up, the mother felt the bond grow even more indelible. Deepa says, I tell Devyani things I wouldn’t tell anyone else. Legendary screen moms have always shied away from sharing screen space with their daughters for the fear of overshadowing their daughter. Years ago Sanjay Bhansali offered roles of the mother and daughter in Khamoshi to Dimple and Twinkle Khanna. Dimple suggested the first-time director to sign her laadli beti and cast some other actress as the mom. Sanjay fled. Hema Malini was so wary of sharing screen space with Esha. She would refuse the plethora of offers to do photo sessions with her daughter. Forget photo-sessions, even being seen in public together would trigger off instant comparisons between the two, making the otherwise-imperturbable diva more than uncomfortable with the idea of sharing public platforms with her daughter. Now of course Esha has evolved into a self-assured young woman, confident of her own space and therefore not the least ruffled by the thought of being likened to her mythic mama. Hema too has become far more confident of her daughter. Lilette Dubey is far more adventurous. In Pritish Nandy’s little-seen gem Bow Barracks Forever she shared screen space with her daughter Neha without playing her real-life role. Lilette says there was absolutely no qualms or fear about the two coming together. In fact earlier in Bappaditya Roy’s not-seen-at-all Sau Sach Ek Jhooth, Lilette and Neha were cast as a very hyper-strung mother-daughter pair. Sometimes being a seasoned actress makes it impossible for the mother to be accommodated in the same frame as the daughter. Which sane filmmaker would even dream of casting the mythic Suchitra Sen with her rebellious oomphy daughter Moon Moon Sen? Rituparno Ghosh did the unthinkable five years ago when he cast Aparna Sen and her daughter Konkona in their real-life roles in Titli. Aparna and Konkona battled over the affections of an aging heart-throb played by Mithun Chakrabroty. Significantly, Aparna has desisted from being cast with her daughter in her own films, though she has repeatedly directed Konkona. When a real-life crisis from Aparna’s life was pulled out for filming in 15 Park Avenue, Aparna cast Shabana Azmi as Konkona’s mother-like elder sister. However, those who know Aparna, saw Shabana behaving exactly like the director in 15 Park Avenue. Mother-daughter bondings in Bollywood are prone to more pulls and pushes than the father-son relationships. So many films featuring the two Bachchan men playing father and son have been designed. Not a single Bollywood producer has thought of casting Abhishek and his mom Jaya together. Sharmila Tagore is luckier. She has played Saif’s mom in two films (Aashiq Aawara and Eklavya). Soha will just have to wait. That reminds me of Mala Sinha and her daughter Pratibha Sinha. What happened to both of them? While the senior Sinha lives the life of recluse (some months ago I tried to contact her for an interview and was told she was busy) nothing is known about Pratibha’s whereabouts. Or oldtimer Amita’s daughter Sabiha who did a scandalous film Anokha Rishta with Rajesh Khanna before vanishing from the screen. A phenomenon peculiar to the famous mother-daughter pairs in Bollywood is the absence of a father-figure/patriarch in the household. Karisma and Kareena were brought up by single-parent Babita with iron hands. To this day the two girls, superstars in their own right, don’t raise a finger without consulting their mom. Esha and Ahana don’t have a patriarch in the house. Hema Malini has been both a father and mother to her daughters. And so has Dimple Kapadia. They’ve both done a fine job of it. Rarely, if ever, do we see daughters being launched with the same fanfare as sons. Producer-director Ravi Tandon chose to launch his son Rajiv in a film called Ek Main Aur Ek Tu. Ravi’s daughter Raveena had to go out and look for opportunities herself. And boy, she did find them!