As India, the US and several parts of the world celebrate Mother's Day today, we take a look at some classic films from Hollywood and Bollywood to watch with your mum by your side.
Image Credit: Netflix and GN Archives
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Mother India: Often counted amongst one of India’s greatest films ever made, ‘Mother India’ starred the late Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Raaj Kumar and Rajendra Kumar. Nargis, who won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for this 1957 gem plays Radha, a poor villager who is struggling to make ends meet and raise her children with people waiting in the wings to take advantage of her at every turn. Fun fact: a scene that sees Radha trapped in a fire went horribly wrong in this Mehboob Khan directorial and Sunil Dutt ran in to save her. Soon enough, the two fell in lover and were married. The real-life romance was repeated in Farah Khan’s directorial, ‘Om Shanti Om’, featuring Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone.
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Mamma Mia!: It’s very near impossible to watch this musical without singing along. Meryl Streep plays the mother-of-the-bride to Amanda Seyfried who finds herself in a pickle when her daughter invites three men from her past to the wedding in a bid to locate her real father. Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Christine Baranski round up the merry bunch with some catchy ABBA songs to sing along to.
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English Vinglish: The 2012 Gauri Shinde film marked Sridevi’s comeback after a hiatus. The actress played a housewife and caterer, Shashi, who is mocked by her family for not knowing English. Her attempt to learn the language helps her rediscover herself and reassert her value as a mother and a wife. Sridevi is a class apart in the film. Watch it on Zee5.
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Stepmom: This 1998 family drama stars the versatile Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon and Ed Harris. With the film’s title laying out an obvious scenario, Roberts plays a photographer who attempts to earn the respect of her divorced boyfriend’s two children, whose mother opposes her presence in their lives. Watch it on Netflix.
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Bad Moms: Come now, we won’t only pick the PG films to celebrate Mother’s Day. This risqué comedy sees three stressed-out mothers (Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and Kathryn Hahn) join forces to blow off steam. What ensues can only be described as a mom war, between overzealous PTA mothers and those trying to keep it all together. Catch it on Netflix.
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Mom: In 2017, Sridevi followed up her successes with ‘Mom’, which was released months before the actress succumbed to her death. The film would go on to win her an Indian National Film Award for Best Actress. Sridevi plays a teacher who seeks the help of a private detective to exact revenge after her stepdaughter’s rapists are acquitted by the court. Watch it on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
Image Credit: GN Archives
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Taare Zameen Par: This 2007 tear-jerker follows the story of a child who is sent to boarding school after his parents find themselves struggling with his education. At the school, an unconventional art teacher, played by Aamir Khan, discovers why the young child has been struggling at school and sets out to help him. The film’s soundtrack, which features the song ‘Maa’, can reduce even the stone hearted to tears. The Bollywood film is streaming on Netflix.
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Yes Day: The endearing Jennifer Garner, who has come a long way from ‘Alias’, stars as a harrowed parent who decides to say yes to every wild request her kids can throw at for 24 hours. The results are often hilarious. Watch it on Netflix.
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Dumplin’: This Netflix coming-of-age comedy follows Willowdean (Danielle MacDonald), an overweight teenager of a yesteryear beauty queen (played by Jennifer Aniston), who decides to participate in her mother’s Miss Teen Bluebonnet pageant to prove a point. There are some genuine laugh-out-loud moments, with MacDonald’s endearing screen presence staying with you long after.
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Freaky Friday: What’s a Mother’s Day movie list without this classic body swap comedy? Jamie Lee Curtis plays a single mom who struggles to maintain a healthy relationship with her teenage daughter, played by Lindsay Lohan. After receiving magical fortune cookies, the two wake up to find out they’ve switched bodies, with hilarious results.
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Good Newwz: This outrageous comedy follows two married couples who find themselves stuck with one another when an IVF mix-up results in the wrong sperm being used to fertilise two women’s eggs. While Akshay Kumar and Diljit Dosanjh bring the laughs, it’s really the two mums-to-be, played by Kareena Kapoor Khan and Kiara Advani, who steal the show. Catch it on Amazon Prime Video.
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The Parent Trap: This 1998 classic stars a young Lindsay Lohan as identical twins who are separated at birth, with each raised by one of their parents. After a chance encounter at a summer camp, the sisters decide to switch places in an attempt to reunite their family once again.
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Mother’s Day: We can’t have a Mother’s Day list of films without mentioning the obvious one. This Gary Marshall 2016 directorial follows in the same vein as New Year’s Eve and Valentine’s Day, by following the lives of several mothers who are dealing with their own personal battles. Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson, Julia Roberts and Jason Sudeikis round up the cast list.
Image Credit: IMDB
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