Happy Mother's Day: Famous Mothers in Bollywood

As most of the world celebrates Mother's Day tomorrow, it is perhaps opportune that I pen down some of my favourite mothers from Bollywood :) When I think of Bollywood mothers, I think of 'aloo ke paranthe' & 'gajar ka halwa'. And the most famous line ever to have been uttered mentioning a mother - 'Mere paas maa hain'.

Reema Lagoo:
Reema Lagoo for our generation is probably what Nirupa Roy was for the previous generation :) I mean, she has been playing mother since forever; she probably played mother for the first time to Juhi Chawla in Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) and has never looked back since then. From Aashiqui to Vaastav and from Hum Saath Saath Hain to Kal Ho Naa Ho. She has played Salman Khan's mother the maximum number of times. The only thing probably remaining for her now is to play Aamir Khan's mother as well :) My favourite role of hers is in Maine Pyaar Kiya & Hum Aapke Hain Kaun.

Farida Jalal:
Farida Jalal is to Shah Rukh Khan what Reema Lagoo is to Salman Khan; it's as if she has to play a mother in SRK's movies be it Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Dil Toh Pagal Hain or Kuch Kuch Hota Hain (in which she played SRK's mother while Reema played Kajol's who is engaged to Salman - gotta love Bollywood :)) My favourite role of hers is, of course, in KKHH where she laments that since she doesn't have a daughter-in-law, she cannot exchange gossip with her other friends and accompanies her grand-daughter on a summer camp to ensure her son gets married a second time.

Jaya Bachchan:
True, Jaya Bachchan has not played a mother in as many movies as the first two but I especially enjoyed her role in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham where she played mother to SRK & Hrithik. She also played mother to Preity Zinta in Kal Ho Naa Ho (in which Reema played SRK's mother - told you Reema is the omnipotent mother :))

Dina Pathak, Ratna Pathak Shah & Supriya Pathak:

This mother-daughters trio may not have played mothers in many movies but they appear in my list solely based on that one movie which has struck a chord with me:

Dina - Golmaal (1979) - As Mrs. Srivastava who played Amol Palekar's fake mother & her twin sister as well, she was hilarious in the movie. The way she matched Utpal Dutt's acting prowess in the movie is worth appreciating. Her contribution to Golmaal's popularity cannot be under-estimated.

Ratna - Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na (2008) - As the mother who wanted to protect her only son from his fate as determined by her in-laws' family, Ratna Pathak Shah really stood out in this movie. She was as mad as the role demanded her to be and friendly with her son at the same time.

Supriya - Wake Up Sid (2009) - As the mother of a spoiled brat who didn't respect his parents or want to spend any time with them, I felt Supriya Pathak did a fabulous role. She wanted to learn English so that she could be friends with her only son & was willing to let her son remain with a strange woman so that he could remain happy.