There's no place for Maa

Hindi films delight in stereotypes. Especially when it comes to women's roles. There are parameters that may not be broken, boundaries that may not be crossed. None more so than for the heroine, who, with barely superficial changes has lingered on until now. But this post, and the preceding one, is about characters that seem to have vanished from our films. The two conspicuous absences from my earlier post were Maa and Pitaji. That was not deliberate, not at first. However, when I began to write about Maa for instance, it occurred to me that one couldn't lump all mothers under one blanket stereotype. (Neither could we the fathers.) There were many sub-genres under that one word, all archetypal. And each sub-genre had its own 'face' if you will. It seemed easier to give them the honour of their own post, considering that even today, the catch-phrase that even a Hindi film neophyte would recognise is Mere paas maa hain.

So, without much ado, let's get on with categorising the various species of Maa that have populated the world of Hindi cinema for the longest time, but seem to be a dead or dying breed in recent years. Let's start from the beginning (with faces to match), shall we? 

1. The suffering Maa

She is always the mother of the hero, abandoned or widowed, cast into penury by circumstances beyond her control, who single-handedly raises her son and waits considerately until he is old enough to collapse and die. She is the reason he turns into a thief, for she is ailing and needs the food and/or medicine; it is for her that he will vow to 'take any job' so he can send her to a sanatorium, and it is her death that will see him either change his ways, or take revenge against an uncaring society.

And the award goes to: Leela Chitnis

I mean, the poor woman suffered from every possible ailment known to man, including, but not limited to tuberculosis. I have lost count of the number of films in which she coughed and hacked her way through the requisite number of reels before she died. Just seeing her on screen was enough to make me reach for my migraine medication.

Leela Chitnis entered the ranks of suffering mothers with Shaheed, where she played mother to Dilip Kumar. For the next two decades or so, she played mother to almost every hero - Raj Kapoor (Awara), Dev Anand (Guide), Dilip Kumar - again (Ganga Jamuna).

2. The imperious / domineering Maa

There are several nominees to this position. Durga Khote, Lalita Pawar, Sulochana, etc. They belong to the rich families; their henpecked husbands are usually Om Prakash, Nasir Hussain, Raj Mehra; they are hung on khandaan ki izzat and zimmedaari... It is they who run the house, and everyone from their husbands to their children, servants to pets, quake when they appear.  They decide everything, from what the family will eat, to whom the children will marry. Family, caste, position, wealth, all matter more to them than the emotions of their children. They always relent in the end, having been taught the error of their ways - usually by the 'poor' daughter-in-law whose steadfast devotion shows them how the poor hold a monopoly over goodness.

And the award goes to: Lalita Pawar.

No one, but no one could do the imperious, we-are-so-superior-to-everyone-else role like she could. She played the same role and made it seem believable each time, making her the mother we loved to hate. Shammi Kapoor (Junglee), Dev Anand (Patita), Nutan (Chhote Bhai), Madhubala's aunt (Mr & Mrs 55), Rajendra Kumar (Sasural), etc.

3. Help, I've lost my kids Maa

Self explanatory. She is the most careless of them all. In film after film after film, she is separated from her child / children. 

The award goes to: Nirupa Roy. (There was no competition in this category. Many thanks to bollyviewer who alerted me to Nirupa Roy's irresponsible ways.)

It is amazing that anyone still wanted her to be 'mother'. (Or perhaps they took one look at the script(s) which called for children being separated from their parents, and said Achcha, is role ke liye Nirupaji ko hii bulaiye.) One could almost guarantee that by the end of the first reel (which was enough time to tattoo the children, or give them identical lockets, or even teach them a song), she will have mislaid her offspring. And will therefore spend the next 16 reels looking for them.

In the meantime, however, she will run into them several times, even mother them, all without knowing they are hers. One thing you can be sure of, however. By the time the film ends, she will be reunited with her child / children. Even if they were babies when she misplaced them, and they didn't have tattoos or lockets or any identification mark whatsoever. She is usually the mother of the hero; one notable exception was Chhaya where she played Asha Parekh's mother.

4. Torn between love and duty Maa

This is the mother who is torn between her husband and her son. As the two men clash in a game of one-up-man-ship, she bears the brunt, sometimes stoically, at other (very rare) times making an attempt to intercede on her son's behalf. To be told, in not so many words, to shut up and keep to 'her place'. Inevitably, her 'duty' to her husband wins over her love for her son. Many mothers have played this role - Achla Sachdev in Janwar comes readily to mind, Raakhee in Shakti, and even Lalita Pawar in Junglee, though in the last case, her husband was dead, and she owed her duty to his portrait. But the award goes to: Durga Khote.

As Jodha Bai in Mugha-e-Azam, she warns her son that Hindustan cannot be ruled by a nautch-girl. However, when he rebels, she also shows the temerity to question the Emperor of Hindustan, Baadshah Akbar himself. And the emperor going to battle against his recalcitrant son, informs her at his cantankerous best that if she cannot send him off to battle with the customary aarti, she can wipe the sindoor off her forehead. She chooses to hand him the sword.

5. The 'Mujhe insaaf chahiye' Maa

She is the wronged woman. Usually a widow, definitely the mother of son(s), she has been the eyewitness to her husband's brutal murder, most often at the hands of his step-siblings. Once rich, she is thrown out of the haveli and ekes a precarious living to raise her sons to adulthood. She stokes the flame of vengeance in her breast, and raises her sons to redress her wrongs. 

The award goes to: Raakhee (The competition withered before her fiery gaze.)

Raakhee should now be able to play this role with her eyes closed. She has been the wronged mother in Falak, Ram Lakhan, Karan Arjun, Saugandh, Pratikar, Shyam Ghanshyam... she continues to seek revenge. 

6. Maa jaisi

She is the brevet mother. She could be a friendly neighbourhood aunty, the guru, or the Anglo-Indian landlady. She will have a rough tongue, a kind heart, and will bully the poor hero (always the hero!) mercilessly. Yet, she is the one who will feed him, be the keeper of his conscience, and will dote on him, even giving him money to tide him over a lean period. 

This is a no-contest. The award goes to: Lalita Pawar

Think of her roles: The kelewali in Shree 420, the rough-tongued Matron in  Anand, the foster mother in Parvarish, Mrs Gomes in Naseeb, and who can forget her definitive portrayal of the loving Mrs D'Sa of Anari?

7. Bhabhi-Maa

A Hindi film actress' career is limited. By the time she turns 30, she is taken off the 'heroine' pedestal and is coerced into playing bhabhi. Adding insult to injury is that she is playing bhabhi to the same actors with whom she was once paired. Even Meena Kumari, who ended her career still playing lead roles, could not escape the dreaded curse. 

 

The bhabhi-maa is married to the eldest brother, who always seems to have younger brothers who are young enough to be his sons. His wife usually has no children, preferring to look after her brothers-in-law, or she does have children but favours her devar(s) over her own offspring.

There is no one person who can be singled out for this role. Pandhari Bai, Nutan, Waheeda Rehman, Meena Kumari, Mala Sinha, Raakhee, and countless other actresses have all been in this role at some point in their careers, but reader Anoushka Dave points out that Kamini Kaushal was the eternal Bhabhi-maa. And so, the award goes to:

8. The 'principled' Maa

She is poor (Of course! No one else has principles.), is usually widowed, works hard to raise her son(s), and will not sacrifice her principles to ease her life. She brings her son(s) up to be honest and is shocked, shocked! when one of them (only one, never both) takes to crime, even if it is to bring her medicines when she is ill. At some point in the film, she will excoriate him for bringing shame to the family, leading to an estrangement that will only be remedied in the last scene - either with the son's repentance, or his death, or both. And sometimes, if the son remains unrepentant, she is even forced to take steps herself.

While Nirupa Roy in Deewar comes to mind, the award can only go to: Nargis.

She is Mother India, the mother of them all. Enough said.

All these stereotypes have vanished from our screens today. Scripts today, where there is one, do not have a place for these women. Does that mean, though, that all stereotypes have been vanquished? Not really. The original archetypes have just been replaced by others. The woman's role is still the same. Maa has just evolved into 'Ma' or 'Mom' or 'Mamma'. She is no longer poor and suffering. She is usually upper middle class to rich, adores her children and dotes on her daughters-in-law, makes spaghetti with much the same nonchalance as she cooks up gajar ka halwa, and her place is obviously at home.

Two modern 'mother' stereotypes are:

9. The Rajshri Maa

She is young, pretty, sweet-tempered, and loves her children to bits. She's not beyond teasing them about their girlfriends, actively supports their plans, and is the woman behind her successful yet traditional businessman husband. She lives in the Rajshri's (Karan Johar / Yash Chopra) idealistic world of multi-generational families, where women still sing bhajans in the morning, yet actively encourage their daughters-in-law to help with the family business - until the children are born.

It's a toss-up between Farida Jalal and Reema Lagoo, but I think the latter wins - by a whisker.

Simply because I think Reema Lagoo holds the record for playing mom to the most number of heroes, all of whom would probably be younger than her by just a few years. And in one case (Sanjay Dutt in Vaastav), she was just a year older than her 'son'. Reema Lagoo is probably Salman Khan's favourite screen mother. 

10. The Punjabi Maa

Quick, raise your hands if you know the answer. And no, no prizes for guessing, either. She is probably one of the finest actresses of our times (reference: Khamosh Paani, Sardari Begum, Darmiyaan, Pestonjee); yet, she is the worst stereotype of the loudmouthed Punjabi that you can find in the annals of Hindi cinema.

And (let the drumroll begin) the award goes to: Kiron Kher

Think of her as the mother in a slew of movies - Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, Om Shanti Om, Dostana, Hum Tum, even Devdas (where she was a Punjabi in Bengali clothing. Sarat Chandra Chatterjee would have turned in his grave in horror at her portrayal.) No one, simply no one does the loudmouthed turn quite like she can. 

And that's that. If you can think of any sub-genre of Maas I have forgotten to add, please feel free to add your choices. I'm sorry I gave the fathers short shrift but I don't think I can go through another list such as this. :)