Heart-winning Bollywood mom characters who broke stereotypical portrayal

Mom characters in Bollywood may mostly be side characters in supporting roles. However, that doesn't stop these incredible scripts and actors from breathing life into roles which are remarkably refreshing, not just for breaking the typical, flawlessly boring ‘Maa’ character, but for also giving a spotlight to women who embrace motherhood and life in their own unique ways.

They are beautiful, quirky, broken, funny, raw, and most importantly, relatable. Here are some of the best mom characters on OTT and big screen:

One of the most recent on-screen moms, Shefali Shah’s character Shamshu – who plays mom to Alia Bhatt’s character Badru – is real, raw and honestly humorous. In the film - spoilers alert - Badru is in an abusive marriage and her mother is not the kind who would ask her daughter to “adjust” or “compromise”.

In fact, from her own personal experiences, she tells her daughter that her husband will not change as “Some men are scorpions. They never change.”

So she helps her daughter to literally get rid of her husband. "Mix rat poison in his food, he will quit drinking for life," she says in a scene.

Neena Gupta plays the reel life mom in Masaba Masaba, a show much appreciated for its honest portrayal of mother-daughter relationship. Neena Gupta’s character in the show is much like her real-life role as a mom to Masaba.

A modern woman who was never afraid of “log kya kahenge”, things change a bit as a mother, since she gets protective around her daughter’s broken marriage and relationship choices.

However, her love and constant support are always there. The two fight and argue every now and then, much like any other Indian mom trying to steer her grown-up daughter through her messy phases of life.

Sushmita Sen returned to acting after long with her show-stealing performance in and as ‘Aarya’. An iconic dialogue from the series sums it all - "Kehne wale toh kuch bhi kahenge..I am just a working mother."

Aaya undergoes the most overwhelming journey possible of losing her beloved husband and having to protect her three children, while also running the family’s dark business. She’s the epitome of the saying ‘A mother can do anything for her kids’.

“Mera parivar meri kamzori hai aur meri taqat bhi,” she says in another scene, a dialogue which a lot of strong, fierce and protective moms can relate to.

This mom character is one of its kind in Indian cinema - it’s the story of a surrogate mom who ends up raising the kid, whom she intended to give up to the parents after pregnancy. Mimi shows that parenthood is not just limited to having a biological kid. What started as a deal to earn some money for fulfilling her dreams of becoming a Bollywood actress, turns her world upside down, but she is only too strong to get shaken by it.

In fact, she embraces the child and raises him with all her love, fights for him and is willing to sacrifice being with him, for his better future. It’s only a journey that a mom can thread onto, and Mimi does so with all her rawness and pure love.

Read more: Reality check: Do parents love all their kids equally?

How can we not fall in love with the coolest Punjabi mom out there? She is her daughter’s best friend, confidant, as well as a protective mother. Kirron Kher’s Manju proves that you can truly have an unfiltered mother-daughter relationship in Indian society.

In a scene in which Mili (Sonam Kapoor) is talking about her family and specifically “Manju”, she is asked, "Manju tumhari behen hai?" To this she says, “No yaar, Manju meri Maa."

Whether it is discussing her crushes, breakups, career, or who she kissed, Mili has never been taught that she has to hesitate an inch before discussing these with her mom.