"My son Rahul is my life."
Mother-son dramas generate captivating and gratifying cinema in Bollywood.
The bond between mothers and sons is unique, indescribable, and filled with love.
When Bollywood films shine a light on this relationship, the results can be historic and heartwarming.
These movies can contain gripping stories, rousing emotions, and unforgettable characters.
DESIblitz proudly presents 12 remarkable mother-son dramas that all Bollywood fans must watch.
Mother India (1957)
Director: Mehboob Khan
Stars: Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar, Raaj Kumar
Mehboob Khan’s Mother India is one of the most enduring classics of Indian cinema.
The film sees the iconic actress Nargis take on the role of Radha.
Radha is considered the mother of her village and is a steely matriarch, committed to following the path of righteousness.
However, her two children are of contrasting personalities.
Birju (Sunil Dutt) is short-tempered and rebellious, while Ramu (Rajendra Kumar) is calmer and wiser.
When Birju’s anger becomes too much, Radha must make the most difficult decision of her life.
Mother India was famously the first Indian film to be shortlisted for an Academy Award in 1958.
It lost the accolade to Nights of Caribia (1957) by a single vote.
Aradhana (1969)
Director: Shakti Samanta
Stars: Sharmila Tagore, Rajesh Khanna, Sujit Kumar, Farida Jalal, Abhi Bhattacharya
Shakti Samanta’s historic Aradhana sees Sharmila Tagore disappear into the role of Vandana Tripathi.
Vandana falls in love with the pilot Arun Verma (Rajesh Khanna). They enjoy a blissful romance.
When tragedy strikes, Vandana is left destitute with her baby boy.
Forced to give him up for adoption, Vandana re-enters her son’s life as his nanny.
She still receives the privilege of raising him, as he grows up to become Suraj Kumar Verma (also played by Rajesh).
Lata Mangeshkar’s chartbuster ‘Chanda Hai Tu‘ underscores the beautiful mother-son relationship.
As the film progresses, Vandana’s love for Suraj takes her in different directions, ultimately leaving her future in uncertainty.
As well as an epic romance, this character arc makes Aradhana one of the most relatable mother-son dramas.
Deewaar (1975)
Director: Yash Chopra
Stars: Shashi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Neetu Singh, Nirupa Roy, Parveen Babi
This legendary crime drama, written by Salim-Javed thrives on the bond between a mother and her sons.
Nirupa Roy plays Sumitra Verma. After her husband abandons her and their two sons, she must raise her boys on her own in the unforgiving slums of Mumbai.
Sumitra’s sons are Ravi Verma (Shashi Kapoor) and Vijay Verma (Amitabh Bachchan).
Both brothers are opposites. Ravi is a responsible police officer, while Vijay strays into crime.
This lawful opposition between the pair creates a wall between them.
Owing to Vijay’s criminal activities, Sumitra chooses to be in Ravi’s life.
This imbalance is emboldened in Ravi’s dialogue. Vijay demands to know what his brother has in comparison to him.
Ravi replies: “Mere paas maa hai!” (I have a mother).
Nearly 50 years after the film’s release, this line is still iconic.
Beta (1992)
Director: Indra Kumar
Stars: Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit, Aruna Irani, Laxmikant Berde, Anupam Kher
Beta is undeniably one of Bollywood’s most moving mother-son dramas.
Raju’s (Anil Kapoor) birth mother has died and he longs for maternal love as a child.
His father marries Laxmi (Aruna Irani), who enters Raju’s life as a mother.
Raju grows up worshipping Laxmi – the mother he never had.
However, his devotion to Laxmi is so deep that he follows her every instruction to the letter.
This includes stopping his studies and becoming isolated from his family.
Through this, Laxmi can exploit Raju for her own will. It is then up to Raju’s wife Saraswati (Madhuri Dixit) to save Raju from this injustice.
The film’s climax shows the love a mother can have for her son, which is suggested by the song ‘Khushiyon Ka Din Aaya Hai‘.
Khal Nayak (1993)
Director: Subhash Ghai
Stars: Sanjay Dutt, Madhuri Dixit, Jackie Shroff, Raakhee, Anupam Kher
Subhash Ghai’s Khal Nayak tells the story of Balaram ‘Ballu’ Prasad (Sanjay Dutt), a notorious criminal who committed crime due to poverty.
He is the son of Aarti Prasad (Raakhee), whose acts of spoiling Ballu in his childhood helped him choose the wrong path.
As Ballu’s crime rises, he finds a surprising ally in Inspector Gangotri ‘Ganga’ Singh (Madhuri Dixit).
Ballu often shares his mother’s memories with Ganga.
For example, when Ganga persuades him to shave his unkempt beard, Ballu says:
“Do you know, when I shaved my beard for the first time at 15, my mother laughed so much.”
However, despite this, Ballu is not above hurting his own mother for his own gain.
This leads Aarti to disown Ballu and regard Inspector Ram Kumar Sinha (Jackie Shroff) as her son.
Khal Nayak is a classic tale of how crime can destroy relationships, but the mother-son bond still simmers beneath.
Karan Arjun (1995)
Director: Rakesh Roshan
Stars: Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Raakhee, Mamta Kulkarni, Kajol, Amrish Puri
Continuing with the work of Raakhee, we come to Rakesh Roshan’s Karan Arjun.
The film intertwines motherly love with reincarnation.
Karan Singh (Salman Khan) and Arjun Singh (Shah Rukh Khan) are brothers who live happily with their mother Durga Singh (Raakhee).
All hell breaks loose when the brothers are murdered by the sadistic Durjan Singh (Amrish Puri).
Durga refuses to accept the death of her sons, and she demands that her sons be given back to her.
She declares: “My Karan-Arjun will come. They will tear open the sky and rip apart the earth.”
Her prayers and faith are answered and Karan and Arjun are reborn as Ajay and Vijay respectively.
The film then follows the journey of the pair as fate reunites them with Durga.
This long-lasting bond is underlined in the evergreen song ‘Yeh Bandhan Toh‘.
For its original strand of faith, Karan Arjun is unquestionably one of the most unique mother-son dramas.
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001)
Director: Karan Johar
Stars: Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, Hrithik Roshan, Kareena Kapoor Khan
This family opus capitalises on the love a child has for their parents.
The key relationship that drives the blockbuster is between Nandini Raichand (Jaya Bachchan) and her adopted son Rahul Raichand (Shah Rukh Khan).
Nandini opens the film and announces: “Nobody can say how much a mother loves her son. Not even the mother.
“Because there’s no answer to this. This is just a feeling. A mother’s feeling.
“My son Rahul is my life.”
Nandini’s affection for Rahul is so deep that she can sense his presence without even seeing him.
She is heartbroken when Yashvardhan Raichand (Amitabh Bachchan) disowns Rahul.
It is then up to Nandini’s younger son Rohan Raichand (Hrithik Roshan) to reunite his family.
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham is an ode to family and mothers.
Taare Zameen Par (2007)
Director: Aamir Khan
Stars: Darsheel Safary, Aamir Khan, Tanay Chheda, Tisca Chopra, Vipin Sharma
Aamir Khan’s directorial debut set a new benchmark in terms of films with social themes.
Taare Zameen Par depicts the tale of Ishaan Awasthi (Darsheel Safary).
Unbeknownst to his parents, Ishaan suffers from dyslexia.
Much to the chagrin of his mother Maya Awasthi (Tisca Chopra), Ishaan is sent to a strict boarding school as his father Nandkishore Awasthi (Vipin Sharma) believes he is lazy.
The bond between Ishaan and Maya is soaked in affection. Ishaan is devastated to be at boarding school.
He remembers Maya through the tear-jerking song ‘Maa‘, while Maya is heartbroken at losing Ishaan.
Their relationship seems to be the one light that never goes out in the film.
When Ishaan puts the phone down to his mother, her pleas and disappointment are heart-wrenching to watch.
However, Ishaan always finds comfort in her arms, which makes the film one of the most touching Bollywood mother-son dramas.
Dostana (2008)
Director: Tarun Mansukhani
Stars: Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Kirron Kher
This fun-filled romantic comedy shows two men pretending to be gay to share an apartment with Neha Melwani (Priyanka Chopra Jonas).
Dostana is known for the chemistry between Sameer ‘Sam’ Malhotra (Abhishek Bachchan) and Kunal Chauhan (John Abraham).
However, what is also a key component of the film is the charming bond between Sam and his mother Rani Kaur Malhotra (Kirron Kher).
Rani is unaware of her son’s pretence and assumes that Sam is gay.
She does everything she can to accept this new turn of events.
Delving into the film, Kirron remembers: “Since I knew Priyanka, John and Abhishek, it was like working within the family.
“Though I don’t think it was the first time a film showed gay people, the beauty of it was the mother’s acceptance of it.
“And that, I think, was new in Indian cinema and it made the film so interesting.”
A progressive film, Dostana keeps to the roots of respecting the bond between mothers and sons.
Helicopter Eela (2018)
Director: Pradeep Sarkar
Stars: Kajol, Riddhi Sen
Everyone can relate to that desire to keep your parents away when you’re a teenager.
Helicopter Eela stars Kajol as Eela Raiturkar who is a single mother as well as an aspiring singer.
Her son, Vivan Raiturkar (Riddhi Sen), is tired of Eela’s overbearing nature.
She continuously meddles in his life, even joining the same college as him.
Eventually, Vivan moves out to create his own space and identity.
In the climax, Vivan encourages his mother to sing onstage and both of them deliver a brilliant performance together.
Helicopter Eela shows that no matter the change in age or circumstance, mothers and sons will always need each other.
For that, it is a terrific representation of a mother-son relationship.
Laal Singh Chaddha (2022)
Director: Advait Chandan
Stars: Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Mona Singh, Manav Vij, Chaitanya Akkineni
A remake of the Hollywood classic Forrest Gump (1994), Laal Singh Chaddha stars Aamir Khan as the titular hero.
The younger version of Laal is brought to life by Ahmad Ibn Umar.
Laal grows up with a low IQ. His only window to understanding the world is his mother Gurpreet Kaur Chaddha (Mona Singh).
She showers Laal with unconditional love and asserts that he is no different than everybody else.
Laal constantly says: “My mummy used to say that life is like golgappas. Even if your stomach becomes full, your mind doesn’t.”
Gurpreet creates a euphemism for worldly problems by telling Laal that there is a malaria outbreak outside.
These simple ways of making things easier for Laal to understand are charming and heart-warming.
When Gurpreet dies after telling Laal to take care of himself, the scene tugs at the heartstrings.
Though Laal Singh Chaddha did not do well at the box office, the bond between Laal and Gurpreet cannot be denied.
Salaam Venky (2022)
Director: Revathy
Stars: Kajol, Vishal Jethwa, Aamir Khan
Returning to the glorious actress, Kajol, we arrive at Salaam Venky.
The film tells the true story of Kolavennu Sujata Krishnan (Kajol) and her son Kolavennu Venkatesh “Venky” Prasad Krishnan (Vishal Jethwa).
Venky suffers from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy – a muscle-wasting disease that shortens his life.
The love between Sujata and Venky is the lamp that sets the film alight.
While Venky’s father disowns him, labelling him as a “dead investment”, Sujata stays firm in protecting and caring for her son.
In a scene, as Venky lies on his hospital bed, Sujata points to her mind, eyes, and heart as she says:
“You will always be here, here, and here.”
Sujata also supports her son’s final wish of obtaining euthanasia so his body and blood can be donated to sick people.
As much as the film is a testament to the human spirit, it is also a very moving story of a mother and son.
Mother-son dramas can ignite emotions galore in the audience.
In the hands of talented actors and a great script, these films can generate history and discussion.
They deserve to be admired and preserved for future generations.
So, find a cosy spot and prepare to embrace new worlds and characters via these superb mother-son dramas.
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