The original maa – Achla Sachdev
Younger audiences may remember her as Kajol's grandmother from Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge or Amitabh Bachchan's mother from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. But Achla Sachdev came in much before all of this. In fact we believe had it not been for Deewar, Achla Sachdev could have well been the Mother Number One in Bollywood. After all ho many women in Bollywood had Balraj Sahani singing 'Ae meri zohrajabeen' for them?
The mother of all maas – Nirupa Roy
Okay so you didn't like that bit about Achla's potential about being Mother Number One. But if Achla made the handsome Balraj Sahani weak in his knees, Nirupa Roy had the immortal line written for her – 'Mere paas maa hai!' Need we say more? That's Nirupa Roy for you… the mother of all Bollywood maas.
The Rajshri maa – Reema Lagoo
Somewhere in the '80s Nirupa Roy made way for Reema Lagoo. With her typical middle class Indian features Reema Lagoo easily slipped into the mother roles. After Maine Pyar Kiya, Reema Lagoo played the mother in practically all of Rajshri films. And during the time she wasn't playing a mom to Salman Khan, she was playing a mom to Govinda, Shah Rukh Khan, Ajay Devgan, Sanjay Dutt… and every other man in Bollywood who refused to grow up.
The unsung maa – Smita Jayakar
She may not be as popular as Kirron Kher or Reema Lagoo. But we have good reasons to cheer for Smita Jayakar as one of the top ten mothers in Bollywood. She made quite a late entry into Bollywood. We saw her in two bit roles in films such as Pardes, Prem Aggan and Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain. But the one film that made us sit up and notice was her role as Aishwarya Rai's mother in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. A string of not-so-happening films may have followed. But we'd be cheering for Smita who plays the mother in Rajshri's next – Ek Vivah Aisa Bhi.
The glamorous maa – Kirron Kher
Now, Kirron Kher is the kind of mom that the men in this office wouldn't mind being seen with. She's fashionable, hep and in a dire situation she could well pack a punch with one of her classy handbags. Frankly that's reason enough for her to be in this list. Cheer for Kirron Kher.
The moping maa – Jaya Bachchan
We think if Jaya Bachachan was a little older, she could have well filled up the vacuum Nirupa Roy left. Think of it, as a mother she has moped much, much more than anyone in this list. Playing the woman caught between her son and her husband, Jaya Bachchan perhaps often portrays the classic Catch-22 situation that most moms face today. And boy how much she mopes. So simply for that, Jaya Bachachan is one of our top 10 Bollywood moms.
The new-age maa – Ratna Pathak Shah
Everyone who has watched Jaane Tu… Ya Jaane Na in this office wants to have Ratna Pathak Shah as their mom. Of course we also know of others who wouldn't mind having Nasaeer as their husband, but that's beside the point. Nonetheless, just by playing Imrran Khan's cool mom in Jaane Tu… Ratna has pretty much arrived on Bollywood's 'mom scene'.
The Oedipal maa – Dimple Kapadia
The jeans-clad Dimple Kapadia in Pyaar Mein Twist played the mom every daughter dreamt of having. Do note we're only talking of girls here. Dimple's filmography for them starts with Sagar and ends with Dil Chahta Hai.
The Typical maa – Farida Jalal
In more ways than one most of these women could have well been your 'typical maas'. But by playing the typical maa in god knows how many films Farida Jalal wins the trophy hands down. Be it Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Dil To Pagal Hai or Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Farida Jalal has belted out one typical maa performances after another with a consistency that very few have displayed. So three cheers for that!
Amitabh ki Maa – Zohra Sehgal
Now, Zohra Sehgal could well be in the grandmother's list. But Cheeni Kum is the one reason she is here. Of course Achla Sachdev has played mother to the 60-plus Amitabh Bachchan in K3G. But we think you'd agree if we'd cast our votes for Zohra Sehgal in the 'Amitabh ki Maa' category. C'mon how many women can hold their own with the Big B in the same frame? And just for that Zohra Sehgal is our favourite in this list.
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