Bollywood films are no doubt known for the factory fresh romance they churn out year after year but have also been popular for showing the bond and affection that exists within a family. Whether it’s the bond between mother and son (Deewaar), mother and daughter (Mom) between brothers and sisters (Dil Dhadakne Do), there are numerous examples galore besides the obvious ones mentioned here. We will be focussing on the father-son bond as seen in Hindi films which remains another strong pillar when it comes to serving us oodles of mush, not to mention family values. Presenting a list of film where strong men showcased tough love towards each other...
Paa
Director : R. Balki (2009)
Star Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan, Paresh Rawal and Arundhati Nag
Paa was something that nobody had ever seen in Bollywood and even though the film is close to a decade old now, we are unlikely to see it in future as well. In the film, Amitabh Bachchan is playing is playing a 12 year old boy called Auro, who is suffering from a disease called Progeria. So, even though he is just a 12 year old boy, he looks five times his actual age. Despite his condition, Auro is living a happy life with his mother Vidya (Vidya Balan), who is a gynaecologist by profession. Amol (Abhishek Bachchan), Auro’s father is an aspiring politician, who doesn’t know he even has a son due to the fact that Vidya conceals this from him. He meets him at an event at Auro’s school where he goes as the chief guest. During their meeting, Auro expresses his desire to visit the President's House to Amol. So, Amol takes Auro along with him to visit the President's house. The story takes a turn during Auro’s 13th Birthday. Auro tells Amol that he is son and wants to reunite his mother back with his father. But, Vidya doesn’t like the idea as she is still hurt by the fact that Amol tried to convince her about an abortion when they first found out about her pregnancy. Amol realises his mistake though, and proposes to Vidya, as he is still in love with her. He stays by Auro's side when he finds out that Auro is his son. Auro's health begins to deteriorate as he reaches his 13th birthday, his physical defects catching up. They perform their wedding rituals in the hospital in the presence of Auro. Even though Auro realises that he doesn’t have any time left he realises that he can die peacefully after re-uniting his parents. Paa showcased a father son relation in a way like never before. The most interesting part of the film was the roles of the father and son in the film were actually reversed. In an interview with a leading daily, R. Balki also spoke about how the idea for this role reversal came about. He said, “I had gone to Amitji's office once and saw him talking to Abhishek. Abhishek was talking very wisely and Amitji was playing the fool. That made me think how a role reversal would look if Abhishek played Amitji's father. I thought of making a fantasy film with this idea. But I also wondered if I could make a real story, if there was any medical condition that would help this story. I spoke to doctors and learnt about Progeria. Quite a few movies have been made on this so I did not want to make another one on it. Instead, I wanted to concentrate on the father-son relationship.”
Udaan (2010)
Director: Vikramaditya Motwane
Star Cast: Rajat Barmecha, Ronit Roy, Aayan Boradia, Ram Kapoor and Manjot Singh
The story of Udaan revolves around 17 year old boy called Rohan (Rajat Barmecha), who is expelled from the reputed Bishop Cotton School, Shimla along with three of his friends after they were caught watching an adult film by their warden. Rohan returns home to an abusive and an alcoholic father (named Bhairav) and a 6 year old half brother named Arjun. Once he’s back, his father takes complete charge of his life. He is forced to wake up every morning for a run and later work at his father’s metal factory and attend engineering class at the local university. His father’s disappointment in him takes a form of constant humiliation along with verbal as well as physical abuse. Rohan secretly has a passion for writing and wants to pursue a career in it, he simply doesn’t have the courage to confront his father about it. Rohan comes home one day to find his step brother Arjun seriously wounded. When Rohan asks his father about what happened to Arjun he tells him that Arjun fell down a flight of stairs. After admitting Arjun in the hospital, the father leaves for Kolkata for a business trip. Rohan learns from Arjun that his father was the reason for his condition and he lied to him about the stairs. After his father returns, he learns that Rohan has failed his engineering exams. Furious by this fact, he burns the diary in which Rohan had written all his poems and stories. He later informs his children that he will be marrying again and has decided to send Arjun to a boarding school and make Rohan a full time employee at the factory. Rohan manages to run away from the house that night and the next day also takes Arjun with him leaving a note behind for his father which said that if he came looking for them Rohan would inform the police. In the film, Bhairav treats both his kids like “projects”. He wants them to stay out of his life and he feels being a father means just to provide and ensure that his sons are disciplined. In a way, had the older brother not been subjected to his father’s behaviour he may not have turned out to be the man he became at the end of the movie. This film also makes us realise the value of our relationship with our father and cherish what we have. Udaan was truly an inspiring film which tells us to never let our dreams die and fight for them till we succeed. In all our lives there resides a Rohan and like Rohan all we need is to fight for what we desire. Although the film didn’t do well commercially, it managed to bag several awards. Udaan is extremely high on the emotional quotient. There is something in this film which we all can relate to and this is what makes it a must watch for everyone. And unlike most films, it also treated us to the dark truth that some fathers can be monsters too.
Wake Up Sid! (2009)
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Star Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Konkona Sen Sharma, Anupam Kher, Supriya Pathak, Rahul Khanna and Shikha Talsania.
Wake Up Sid! was Ayan Mukerji’s first film as a director and with Ranbir Kapoor. The story of the film is about a young boy named Siddharth Mehra or Sid (Ranbir Kapoor). Sid is the son of a wealthy businessman Ram Mehra and his wife Sarita Mehra (Supriya Pathak). Living in Mumbai, Sid has always got what he wanted since he was a kid. He was never told NO for anything. So, he grows up to be a carefree and lazy spoilt brat. Since he has no interest in studies, his father forces him to work for his company. But, Sid is unable to give in to that as well. Things take a turn for the worse when he find out that he has failed his graduation. Unable to deal with his parents after his failure, he decides to leave his house and lives with his friend Aisha (Konkona Sen Sharma), who recently moved in from Kolkata. During his stay there, he realises that you have to work for everything in life and it just doesn’t get handed to you like it was until now. Sid always had a passion for photography, so, he decides to pursue a career in something that he will enjoy doing. With the help of Aisha, he gets a internship at a magazine as a photographer. Slowly but steadily, he realises the value of hardwork. He realises that all the things that his father kept telling him and which he found useless, were actually true. In the end, when he gets his first paycheck, he rushes to his father's office. Upon seeing him, his father comes into tears after looking at this new avatar of his son and asks him to return home. Wake Up Sid! showed us that what our parents keep lecturing us might seem annoying but they do this because they want the best for us.
Waqt : The Race Against Time (2005)
Director: Vipul Amrutlal Shah
Star Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Priyanka Chopra, Shefali Shah and Boman Irani.
In this film, Akshay Kumar plays Aditya, a young man belonging to a wealthy family, who doesn’t have any interest in achieving something in his life. He gets married to his girlfriend Pooja (Priyanka Chopra), without informing anyone in his house. This makes his father, Ishwar (Amitabh Bachchan), realise that his son treats everything in his like a game and he needs to bring in some sense of responsibility into him. In a sudden turn of events, he kicks out Aditya from his house along with his wife and they are forced to live in the outhouse. Aditya eventually realises that he should take responsibility for himself and his wife, who is soon expecting a baby. He works hard and soon becomes a film star. He’s nursing resentment towards his father and refuses to patch up but all that goes away when he finds out that his father is suffering from cancer and was doing all this so that his son would grow up in real terms. He immediately rushes to his father and thanks him for all that he’s done in making him the man he was. Waqt taught us a very important message which is to cherish each moment that we have with our loved ones since we may never know when the time may run out. And also to not have ego clashes with our elders as you never know when they’ll take their last breath.
Patiala House (2011)
Director: Nikhil Advani
Star Cast: Akshay Kumar, Anushka Sharma, Rishi kapoor and Dimple Kapadia.
Patiala House is said to be loosely based on the life of English cricketer Monty Panesar. The concept of the film was conceived by Rohan Nanda, who is the son of popular Hindi novelist Gulshan Nanda. In the film, Akshay Kumar plays the character of Parghat Singh Kahlon who for strange reason is called Gattu. Gattu is living the life his father, Gurtej (Rishi Kapoor) chose for him. Gattu had always been good at cricket and he wanted to play the game at the highest level. Since he was living in England, his dad didn’t let him follow his passion as this would mean that Gattu would represent the English national team, a country in which he has always faced severe racism. His father even goes as far as telling him that he will commit suicide if Gattu ever touches the willow again. Years later, Gattu gets a chance to play for England one for time. His siblings and cousins convince him to give it a shot saying that, if he makes it to the national team, his father would realise that the world isn’t as racist as it used to be earlier. As he gets picked for England, the family tries to hide it from his father. But, Gurtej eventually finds out the truth and has a heart attack because of that. Gattu continues to follow his passion by playing cricket hoping that his father will change his opinion. Disappointed by this behaviour, Gurtej locks himself up in the house. At this moment, his wife shows up and tells him that all her life she sided with her husband but she didn’t realise she had the responsibilities towards her son as well. She turns on the T.V. wanting to see her son fulfil his dream. Gurtej watches with her and realises how badly he had treated his son. Later, Gurtej decides to go to the stadium to cheer his son who was having a bad game since his problems with his father was working on his mind. Upon seeing his father in the stands with a smile, Gattu is able to get his mind back into the game and manages to make England win the championship at the very last ball. Patiala House gave us a good glimpse of what Monty Panesar went through in his life before making the English cricket team. This film serves notice to all fathers, stating that they should let their children follow their dreams. Even though the career they choose might not be as stable as a 9 to 5 job it is important that they come to terms with what their children have chosen as their life’s calling.
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