On Mother’s Day, Pinkvilla spoke to acclaimed actress Ratna Pathak Shah on the diverse roles of a mother that she has played on screen including in Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai, Kapoor & Sons, Khoobsurat, Golmaal 3 and more recently in Thappad. Shah was quick to add here, “You forgot the first mother that got me attention. That was Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na - (I played a) very modern mother who spoke in more or less the same language that her children used.”
She further adds, “So yes, I never realised it but I have had quite an interesting graph as mothers. You forgot my lovely Love Per Square Foot. So yes, lots of mothers - usually mothers of sons. In Filmy Chakkar I had two sons, in Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai I had two, in Kapoor & Sons I had two and even in Lipstick Under My Burkha I had two nephews if not sons, and I have had so few daughters.” She further adds that she played mother to a daughter in Thappad and in Love Per Square Foot too. “Which is why I like that film (Love Per Square Foot) so much, because that was probably the first time when I had a daughter in the film. So it was a very interesting experience to have a relationship like that with a younger girl rather than young men,” states Shah.
Ratna says she very much liked these parts because they were different kinds of mothers. “A mother who was a human being, not just a symbol. Not just the mother who would say, acha acha beta aa gaye, baitho baitho main tumhare liye parathe laati hun. Why mothers are always keen on feeding their sons parathas I don’t know, but that’s what they always do in Hindi movies. So it was a relief to get mothers who are not stereotypical, and more important than that - it was a relief to get mothers who are not unhappy, or miserable or being treated badly,” Ratna said.
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