On Mother's Day 2022, celebrate THESE strong reel moms who broke the cliches!

Mothers' Day is marked this year on May 8. From self-sacrificing mothers to avenging matriarchs to moms, Hindi cinema has portrayed motherhood in different ways. This Mother's Day, we recommend a few films that depict motherhood from a rare perspective by showing the emotional and circumstantial challenges women have to face while raising their children. These women are not perfect but they are authentic and closer to life than the ever-smiling, multi-tasking goddesses we expect mothers to be. From the late legendary first female superstar of Indian cinema, Sridevi in English Vinglish to Sushama Deshpande's powerful act in Ajji, take a look at these must-watch films list: 

Tribhanga starring Kajol, Tanvi Azmi and Mithila Palkar was directed by Renuka Shahane. The film was produced by Ajay Devgn, Deepak Dhar, and Siddharth P Malhotra. It talked about the unspoken issues that can complicate the relationship between mothers and daughters. The story reiterates that mothers can be fallible because they too are human. The movie encourages open conversations and empathy for flawed mothers who did the best they could. 

This Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao production depicts the courage it takes for a mother to stand up to patriarchy and abuse within the family unit to protect her children. Zaira Wasim played the titular role in this Advait Chandan directorial. The film questions why a girl child is denied the freedom to chase her dreams under one pretext or another? Meher Vij as Zaira aka Insia's on-screen mother Najma in the film represents the beating heart of the film. Aamir Khan, Mona Ambegaonkar and Raj Arjun are seen in supporting roles.   

Hamid, the Yoodlee production and Aijaz Khan directorial, portrays the difficulties of a mother who must raise her child alone while dealing with enormous personal grief and loss. The film is about a devastated Kashmiri family where the father has gone missing, leaving behind his seven-year-old son Hamid and Ishrat, his grieving wife. Rasika Dugal poignantly depicts the struggle of a mother whose child (played by Talha Arshad Reshi) wants answers she cannot give. Vikas Kumar as a kind, nurturing voice on the other end of a telephone line guides Hamid through a tough phase to prove that it takes a village to raise children and that no mother should have to do it alone. Talha Arshad Reshi went on to win a National Award for his performance and the film too won the National Award for Best Feature Film in Urdu.

'English Vinglish', written and directed by Gauri Shinde is an award-winning film which tells us the story of  Shashi played by the legendary Sridevi, whose life revolves around her children and husband. Sridevi was hailed for her sensitive performance as Shashi after a 15-year hiatus while Adil Hussain, French actor Mehdi Nebbou, and Priya Anand played supporting roles. The film was produced by Sunil Lulla, R Balki, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and R K Damani. This could be the story of any regular household where a devoted mother and wife forget to tend to her own dreams. 

This Devashish Makhija film is not exactly about a mother but about the primal maternal instinct to protect and avenge a wrong done to a beloved child. It revolves around 'Ajji', an unprepossessing grandmother leading an impoverished existence in a slum when a crime against her granddaughter and the denial of justice puts her on the dangerous path of retribution. Sushama Deshpande puts in a bravura performance as Ajji while Sharvani Suryavanshi, Abhishek Banerjee, Sadiya Siddiqui, Vikas Kumar, Manuj Sharma, Sudhir Pandey, Kiran Khoje, and Smita Tambe play major roles. The film was produced by Yoodlee.