In 1957, when Mehboob Khan’s Mother India, a remake of his own 1940 film Aurat hit the theatres, viewers were hit by the struggles of a single mother. Nargis’ portrayal of the poverty-stricken Radha in the film, and the film in itself, have both been lauded to the heavens by posterity. Mother India has found a mention in the list of the greatest Indian films ever made. Till date, it continues to wear that crown.
After that single mother on the silver screen, several decades saw a lull for Bollywood. Single mothers no longer seemed show-able enough for Hindi films. Of course, Bollywood has always had the character on film, but not as the hero. Films revolving out-and-out around single mothers have been few and far between. Shabana Azmi’s Bhavna (1984) is among those rare films which had as its pivot a single mother’s life.
Thirty years down the line from Bhavna, Bollywood is now gearing up for Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s comeback film Jazbaa. Directed by Sanjay Gupta, this remake of the Korean thriller Seven Days is the story of a single mother who needs to fight against time and power to save her child. Aishwarya’s absence from films for the last five years has already upped curiosity levels of her fans. Right from the time the film was announced, to now, a day ahead of the release of Jazbaa, the film has had Aishwarya fans on their toes. Social media has done its bit to make the film trend whenever there was even a bit of news about it. And Sanjay Gupta, on his part, has gone on record saying that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is the ‘hero’ of his film.
“I have worked with male actors like Sanjay Dutt, John Abraham and many others, but I can tell you Aishwarya is no less. She is the hero of Jazbaa .I didn’t have to do anything tremendously different or dramatic for the film as it was easy. While male actors did not come to set after doing homework, Aishwarya was more disciplined,” Gupta had been quoted as saying.
In several interviews, interactions with the media and on Twitter, the director has time and again said that he chose a single-mother-centric film for Aishwarya’s comeback in order to do justice to the actor. Rai Bachchan’s five-year hiatus from films was because she had her real-life motherhood to concentrate on. The 2010 Guzaarish was the last film Aishwarya was seen in. After that, in 2011, the actor’s daughter Aaradhya was born. Ever since, Ash had largely been seen at promotional events for the brands she endorses, and the yearly visit to the Cannes International Film Festival. Now, Aishwarya has her near-four-year-old daughter accompanying her to shoots, to promotional events and everywhere else.
Whether or not the film is successful commercially is for the makers to worry about… as of now, we should just celebrate the fact that we’ll get to see a single mother as the lead in a Bollywood film. After decades!
