Perhaps the most iconic dialogue in Indian films ever has been, 'mere paas maa hain' (in Deewar uttered by Shashi Kapoor). And mother sentiment has always been, well, mother of all sentiments on Indian screens. But that doesn't means dads are un-celebrated on Indian screens. If anything, Indian movies, across languages, have been high on parental emotions. And with Father's Day falling this weekend (June 19, 2022), we have compiled some Indian movies that score high on a man's love and affection for his children.
The list, by no means, is exhaustive. And also, these are just the movies that have caught our fancy at the current moment. Written on some other day, the list could be totally different. We have also deliberately avoided obvious examples like Dangal, Paa, and Drishyam and also the list, we must confess, suffers from a recency bias. Further, keeping in line with the prevailing mood of the OTT ecosystem, our list is also packed with films from the Southern film industry (Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu).
Piku (2015)
An idiosyncratic man with bowel issues. An exasperated but still doting daughter. A short-fused but still empathetic driver cum companion. Piku is a journey, outwardly from Delhi to Kolkata by road, but into the bylanes of the most crowded place --- the human mind. The tender gaze of the film on people about their inside longings is so comforting. Both Amitabh Bachchan and Deepika Padukone, as man and daughter, keep it so real without being boring.
Platform: SonyLIV
Bommarillu (2006)
Can a father's well-meaning protection for his son be stifling and suffocating? It can be, and the Telugu movie Bommarillu showed in a feel-good way. The film had all the commercial elements, young and good looking actors, romance, foot-tapping songs. Amidst this masala formula, it also adroitly pinned a larger theme of an overbearing father who hasn't figured out that his love for his members is weighing them down. It's a bit messagey towards the end, but heck it is all delivered with fun.
Platform: Zee5
Abhiyum Naanum (2008)
This can be a companion piece to Bommarillu. Prakash Raj continues to be adoring dad, but this time to a girl. But again he is overprotective, and is loath to let go. The film's strength is its freshness and the humour. The one-liners, the whacky characters all add to the mirth. It also makes the important point that when a child is born a parent is also born. It is a voyage of discovery for both, in a sense.
Platform: Amazon Prime Video
Pavithtram (1994)
This beautiful Malayalam movie was well ahead of its times. We talk of Badhaai Ho as pushing the envelope on late pregnancy to ageing couple. This 1994 movie handled the issue with even more aplomb, with the cast lead by Mohanlal in great form. Also, the brother, who is older to the new-born girl by 30 years, actually becomes her father figure. And that song, Sreeragamo is one for the ages.
Platform: Disney+ Hotstar
Chhichhore (2019)
It is a long movie with large emotions. It is about the rites of passage of growing up. The anxiety to be accepted by friends and peers. The fear of losing. A young man overcome by his inner turmoils attempts suicide in his college. And it is now left to his father, who is separated from his wife, to nurse him back to better ways. The dad, who himself had been labeled a loser, uses his own tough life story to motivate his son. The film also portrayed in good relief hostel life in Indian colleges and the bonding among friends.
Platform: Disney+ Hotstar
Vaaranam Aayiram (2008)
This is director Gautham Vasudev Menon's ode to his own dad, as it were. A young man loses his lover to a bomb blast, and falls into drug addiction. His life is now a circle of hopelessness. Can there be some redemption for him? Luckily for him, he has an understanding dad, who is not judgmental. He is gentle and wise. Thanks to him, the wayward son picks up the pieces of his life, falls in love with another girl and gets into army and saves the nation too. He's hero to the country. But for him, his dad will forever be more heroic.
Platform: Amazon Prime Video
Yennai Arindhaal (2015)
Again Gautham Vasudev Menon. Another paean to a father. But this time it is radically different kind of affection. It is the love of a step father. The film is otherwise an action thriller with police and thugs fighting it out with bullets and much worse, But the portions of the step father taking his daughter on a nationwide journey of bonding and benevolence is one for the ages. It is warm, cute and real without being mushy or treacle-soaked.
Platform: YouTube
Avvai Shanmughi/Chachi 420 (1996)
This is in a sense the greatest tribute to father. Here in this fun tale, a father is ready to go to any extent to safeguard his daughter --- even to the extent of becoming a woman. Okay, only at a cosmetic level. Loosely inspired by Robin Williams Mrs Doubtfire, this film though totally owned by Kamal Haasan and his amazing histrionics as a woman. It could have been crass or crude with a lesser actor, but Kamal played the character with great dignity even while keeping the tone fun. In Tamil, the dialogues of Crazy Mohan, who performed the best in partnership with Kamal, were hilarious.
Platform: Amazon Prime Video
Kireedam (1989)
This is a hall-of-famer in Indian and Malayalam cinema. A movie that was remade six other languages. But none of which could capture the organic emotions of the original, which of course owed a lot to the measured acting by Thilakan and Mohanlal as dad and son. The dad, a humble constable, wants his son to become an inspector. And he also works for it. But destiny has a different script for him. The climactic moments of the film is utterly moving and gripping.
Platform: Amazon Prime Video
Mahanadhi (1994)
This is not a film for the faint-hearted. If you are looking for feel-good moments, this movie is not for you. But this film belongs to top echelons. Kamal has confessed that he wrote the film as some kind of emotional catharsis after he had received some kidnap threats for his daughters. You can see it in the film that only a dad filled care and warmth for his children could have written it. This is less a movie more a kick in the guts. A sobering tale of how the convoluted ways of life can suck one into a dark and dangerous abyss from the comforting warmth of family and friends. But things can improve only if there is force more powerful than God, which could sometimes be, well, dad's love.
Platform: YouTube
- O2, Masoom, Fingertip, She, lead OTT releases - June 17 weekend
