12 Bollywood Mother-Daughter Dramas to Watch

Mother-daughter dramas have always tugged at the heartstrings of Bollywood lovers. We present 12 such films that you must watch.

12 Bollywood Mother-Daughter Dramas to Watch - F

"You are the world's best mother."

Over the years, mother-daughter dramas have lit up Bollywood like few other onscreen relationships.

The bond between mother and daughter is unlike any other.

This relationship has love, depth, and complexity ingrained in its core.

Portrayed by talented actresses, and backed up by an emotional screenplay, this bond can translate into an everlasting film.

There are several movies showcasing this bond that have left a permanent mark on the hearts of viewers.

DESIblitz proudly presents 12 great Bollywood mother-daughter dramas.

Kabhi Kabhie (1976)

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Director: Yash Chopra
Stars: Waheeda Rehman, Shashi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Raakhee, Neetu Singh, Rishi Kapoor

Yash Chopra’s multi-generational film, Kabhi Kabhie, is a movie that entertains people of all ages.

Its unique representation of romance and family has ensured a place for it in the annals of Hindi film history.

In the film, Pinky Kapoor (Neetu Singh) is devastated to know that she was adopted.

She tracks down her biological mother who is none other than Anjali Malhotra (Waheeda Rehman).

Anjali does not tell anyone that Pinky is her daughter, but her maternal feelings for her surface as they forge a loving and respectful bond.

This is underlined in Lata Mangeshkar’s soul-stirring chartbuster, ‘Mere Ghar Aayi Ek Nanhi Pari‘.

Yash Ji was the pioneer of genuine romance in his time, but he was also an expert at carving relationships.

That is never more evident than in the mother-daughter relationship in Kabhi Kabhie.

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995)

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Director: Aditya Chopra
Stars: Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Amrish Puri, Farida Jalal

This historic movie stands the test of time in Bollywood.

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge is touted as the best romantic film ever to emerge out of the film industry.

However, what stands apart in the film is the emotional mother-daughter relationship between Lajwanti ‘Lajjo’ Singh (Farida Jalal) and Simran Singh (Kajol).

Simran opens up to her mother about the man of her dreams and Lajjo is sad for her when Simran’s marriage is arranged to someone else.

The film has several scenes of the mother and daughter sharing their feelings.

When Lajjo discovers Simran’s love for Raj Malhotra (Shah Rukh Khan), she supports their relationship.

While Raj refuses to elope with Simran, the support Lajjo gives her daughter is the underrated gem of the movie.

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge is therefore one of the best mother-daughter dramas.

Dil Hai Tumhaara (2002)

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Director: Kundan Shah
Stars: Rekha, Preity Zinta, Mahima Chaudhry, Arjun Rampal, Jimmy Sheirgill

This film showcases a mother’s relationship with not one but two daughters.

Sarita (Rekha) lives a happy life with her husband Shekhar (Sachin Khedekar) and their daughter Nimmi (Mahima Chaudhry).

Sarita is shattered when she discovers that Shekhar has another daughter named Shalu (Preity Zinta) with another woman, Renu (Natasha Sinha).

When tragedy strikes, Sarita must raise Shalu as her daughter along with Nimmi.

However, Sarita cannot give Shalu any love as the latter reminds her of her husband’s affair.

Shalu and Nimmi grow up unaware of the truth and Shalu assumes that Sarita simply prefers Nimmi over her.

This makes her rebellious and at times, insolent.

Dil Hai Tumhaara is filled with gut-wrenching scenes among Sarita, Nimmi, and Shalu.

The climax of the film is undeniably tear-jerking and shows the power of loving relationships.

Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003)

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Director: Nikhil Advani
Stars: Jaya Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta

Continuing with the iconic actress Preity Zinta’s work, we come to Nikhil Advani’s classic.

Kal Ho Naa Ho narrates the saga of Naina Catherine Kapur (Preity) as she navigates her life in New York.

She lives in a joint family that includes her mother Jennifer ‘Jenny’ Kapur (Jaya Bachchan).

The mother and daughter love each other immensely and often tell lies to protect the feelings of each other.

Jenny has also adopted the young Jia Kapur (Jhanak Shukla).

Jia is detested by Naina’s grandmother Lajwanti ‘Lajjo’ Kapur (Sushma Seth).

Jenny constantly stands up for Jia against Lajjo, proving that she is a mother who doesn’t tolerate insults to her children.

This also shows that blood is not essential in relationships and that real bonds are created through unconditional love and respect.

English Vinglish (2012)

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Director: Gauri Shinde
Stars: Sridevi, Navika Kotia, Mehdi Nebbou, Adil Hussain, Priya Anand

English Vinglish remains a historic film as it marked the acting comeback of the legendary actress Sridevi.

Sridevi plays the housewife and entrepreneur Shashi Godbole.

Shashi can’t speak fluent English and is therefore looked down upon by her daughter Sapna Godbole (Navika Kotia).

Sapna frequently feels embarrassed by her mother’s shortcomings, which upsets Shashi.

This motivates her to join an English-speaking tuition in America.

Sapna is ashamed of the way she treats her mother when recognising her effort and seeks her forgiveness.

English Vinglish is inspired by the way director Gauri Shinde used to feel embarrassed as a child due to her mother’s lack of English.

Gauri admits: “I made this film to say sorry to my mother. As a child, somewhere, I must have looked down upon my mother.

“Even today, I cringe thinking about incidents where I may have misbehaved and hurt her.”

Listen…Amaya (2013)

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Director: Avinash Kumar Singh
Stars: Farooq Shaikh, Deepti Naval, Swara Bhaskar

In Listen…Amaya, we meet the widowed mother Leela Krishnamoorthy (Deepti Naval).

She has a daughter named Amaya Krishnamoorthy (Swara Bhaskar) who is a budding writer.

At her library cafe, Leela strikes a chord with a widowed photographer, Jayant ‘Jazz’ Sinha (Farooq Shaikh).

Amaya feels insecure due to the bond between her mother and Jazz.

She is unable to accept things when the relationship progresses, especially after she collaborates with Jazz on a project.

It’s hard to empathise with a child who is a stumbling block to their mother’s happiness. Swara comments:

“I needed to portray Amaya’s vulnerability, show that she is after all a child acting from the fear of losing her mother and the inability to let go of the memory of her father.

“That doesn’t make her a bad person. I hope I’ve managed to do justice to this grey character.”

Listen…Amaya suggests the uncertainty some children face when their parents move on in their lives romantically.

For that, it is one of the most unique mother-daughter dramas.

Nil Battey Sannata (2015)

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Director: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Stars: Swara Bhaskar, Riya Shukla, Ratna Pathak Shah, Pankaj Tripathi, Sanjay Suri

Nil Battey Sannata is Hindi slang for the phrase ‘Good for nothing’.

With this film, we resume with Swara Bhaskar’s original filmography.

However this time, as Chanda Sahay, Swara assumes the role of the mother in the film.

Chanda works as a maid, struggling to provide for her indifferent daughter Apeksha ‘Apu’ Shivlal Sahay (Riya Shukla).

Apu struggles with Maths at school. Denied a tutor for her daughter, Chanda enrols in the school herself to learn Maths and also tutor Apu.

Apu’s anger, embarrassment, and resentment know no bounds.

She constantly ridicules Chanda, stealing her savings and accuses her of prostitution.

When she finds out the truth, however, Apu becomes respectful and tries harder at school.

Apu succeeds in Maths towards the end, and when she is asked who inspires her, Apu’s answer is clear: It is her mother.

Neerja (2016)

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Director: Ram Madhvani
Stars: Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, Shabana Azmi, Shekhar Ravjiani, Yogendra Tiku

Neerja sees Sonam Kapoor Ahuja inhabit the world of the flight purser Neerja Bhanot.

Amid all the tension, action, and hijacking, one relationship in Neerja’s life is the driving force of her willpower.

That is the mother-daughter bond she shares with Rama Bhanot (Shabana Azmi).

Heart-touching scenes between the pair adorn Neerja, showing the unbreakable bond of love and concern.

For example, a scene of Rama tying Neerja’s hair while she fidgets is something that most mothers and daughters can relate to.

Shabana delves into the actual maternal bond she has with Sonam:

“Sonam is my daughter! I remember Anil Kapoor did not wish [for] Sonam to belong to the Bollywood arena.

“Anil said, ‘Shabana, please persuade Sonam to finish her studies’.

“I told Sonam to go ahead and complete her education. She was a very scholarly kid.”

This anecdote describes the care that Shabana felt for Sonam, which translates beautifully in Neerja.

Mom (2017)

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Director: Ravi Udyawar
Stars: Sridevi, Sajal Ali, Akshaye Khanna, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Adnan Siddiqui

The renowned Pakistani actress Sajal Ali joins forces with the indomitable Sridevi in this crime thriller.

As Devki Sabarwal, Sridevi is a force of nature as the stepmother of Arya Sabarwal (Sajal).

Although Devki and Arya aren’t biologically related, the former loves Arya with every pore of her being.

When Arya is raped, however, Devki vows to get justice for her.

What follows is a hard-hitting ode to maternal strength, resilience, and courage.

In the end, from Arya’s lips, Devki hears the word she has been yearning to hear – ‘Mom’.

Tragically, Mom turned out to be Sridevi’s final film in a leading role, as she died on February 24, 2018.

Following her death, Sajal said: “I was very close to Sridevi. She unfortunately left us too soon.

“I never really talked about her and my relationship. She used to guide me like her own daughter.

“She was like my mother. We did not just share a working relationship. It was more than that for us.”

Secret Superstar (2017)

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Director: Advait Chandan
Stars: Zaira Wasim, Meher Vij, Raj Arjun, Aamir Khan

As the ending credits of Secret Superstar begin, a title card says: “Dedicated to mothers and motherhood”.

The film depicts the tale of Insia ‘Insu’ Malik (Zaira Wasim) who dreams of becoming a singer.

She also wishes to free her mother Najma Malik (Meher Vij) from Najma’s abusive husband Farookh Malik (Raj Arjun).

The unconditional love between Insu and Najma is the light and soul of the film.

Their relationship is underscored when Insu dedicates the song ‘Meri Pyaari Ammi‘ to Najma.

Insu’s strong spirit rubs off on Najma too, which is apparent in the film’s climax.

During an emotional speech, Insu addresses Najma directly and declares:

“You’re not a scaredy-cat. You’re a fighter. You are the world’s best mother.”

For her excellent portrayal of Najma, Meher won the 2018 Filmfare Award for ‘Best Supporting Actress’.

The Sky Is Pink (2019)

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Director: Shonali Bose
Stars: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Farhan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim, Rohit Saraf

Staying with the fabulous young actress, Zaira Wasim, we arrive at The Sky Is Pink.

One of Bollywood’s most thrilling biopics, the film tells the true story of Aisha Chaudhary (Zaira).

She died as a teenager due to pulmonary fibrosis.

However, her parents Aditi Chaudhary (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) and Niren Chaudhary (Farhan Akhtar) are determined to give her a good life.

The film has scenes, particularly between Aisha and her mother, whom she fondly addresses as ‘Moose’.

They present a dynamic, modern relationship, almost acting as friends rather than mother and daughter.

The mother-daughter bond is also highlighted by Aditi giving birth to her first daughter Tanya Chaudhary.

Tanya dies within months of her birth due to a severe combined immunodeficiency condition.

As she approaches the end of her life, Tanya cries in her mother’s arms.

Aditi gently tells her: “Mummy is selfish, but not so much as to not understand your pain.

“You go, my baby. And next time, come back healed.”

Goldfish (2023)

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Director: Pushan Kripalani
Stars: Deepti Naval, Kalki Koechlin

Goldfish narrates the story of Anamika Fields (Kalki Koechlin) and her mother Sadhana Tripathi (Deepti Naval).

Anamika returns to her childhood home to look after Sadhana, who has dementia.

With the help of her neighbourhood, Anamika must forge a renewed relationship with Sadhana, as well as deal with emotional scars.

The film is gratifying, emotional, and original.

While promoting the film, Kalki praised Deepti’s brilliance:

“It was a pleasure to work with Deepti Ji. She is quiet and yet so brilliant and surprising.

“I was always kept on my toes as she would come up with something on the spot and I’d have to react to it.

“I loved working with her.”

This rapport is reflected in the performances in Goldfish, which is an unmissable showcase of love and belonging.

Bollywood mother-daughter dramas can leave an imprint on the industry and the audience.

They present characters and themes that stay with viewers long after the ending credits have rolled.

With impeccable performances and haunting stories, these films are a must-watch.

They are essential not just for mothers and daughters, but for everyone.

So, grab some snacks, snuggle up, and prepare to embrace an indescribable bond via these mother-daughter dramas.

Manav is our content editor and writer who has a special focus on entertainment and arts. His passion is helping others, with interests in driving, cooking, and the gym. His motto is: “Never hang on to your sorrows. Always be positive."

Images courtesy of IMDB and Mint.

Videos courtesy of YouTube.





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