Kareena has been a leading lady now for 25 years, Deepika for almost two decades and Alia for over a decade.
Dinesh Raheja chronicles the changing ways Bollywood has treated actor-moms.
IMAGE: Deepika Padukone at the promotion of Kalki 2898 AD. Photograph: Hitesh Harisinghani/Rediff
Cyclones of controversy have been unleashed by Deepika Padukone’s reported parting of ways from blockbuster director Sandeep Vanga’s upcoming film, Spirit.
Speculation has it that the deal fell through predominantly because of the new mother’s demand for regulated working hours.
This has whipped up an impassioned conversation about the conditions for working mothers in Bollywood. While Ajay Devgn, Mani Ratnam, Saif Khan and Neha Dhupia have argued in favour of shorter shifts for new mothers, Genelia D’Souza pointed out that marriage itself can result in an actress being overlooked for roles by the film industry.
Sadly, it seems debate still exists about the feasibility of actresses plunging back into work after marriage and motherhood.
The cold fact, however, is that working mothers in Bollywood have been a reality since the last 50 years at least.
Contrary to the myth that actresses of yore instantly lost their stardom once they became mothers, there have been a few path-breaking actresses who did adeptly juggle films and motherhood.
IMAGE: Nutan and Dev Anand in Tere Ghar Ke Samne.
In the 1960s, Nutan became the first to smash age-old taboos about actresses not remaining saleable after they become mothers.
The actress married at age 23 and a couple of years later, gave birth to son Mohnish in 1961.
Remarkably, the nascent mother was soon welcomed back in the studios with open arms by an accommodative film industry.
Nutan had three big-name releases in 1963 — the breezy musical Tere Ghar Ke Samne with Dev Anand, the love story Dil Hi To Hai with Raj Kapoor (in which she showcased her versatility and danced to Nigahein Milane Ko Jee Chahta Hai) and Bandini for which she bagged the Filmfare Best Actress award.
Subsequent award-winning landmarks like Milan, Saraswatichandra and Saudagar confirmed that Nutan could skilfully balance conflicting demands as a working mother.
A leading lady who was also a mother was, however, still more the exception than the rule till the more liberated 1970s.
IMAGE: Sharmila Tagore and Rajesh Khanna in Aradhana.
Sharmila Tagore gave birth to son Saif Ali Khan in August 1970, within months of scoring an award-winning triumph with the superhit Aradhana.
The glamour icon took only a brief break before resuming work.
Her flourishing career as a leading lady remained uninterrupted with multiple films like Amar Prem, Daastaan, Chhoti Bahu and Maalik thronging theatres over the next couple of years.
Moreover, the new mother signed films afresh with superstar Rajesh Khanna (Daag, 1973) and showed off an enviably tiny waistline in the Aa Gale Lag Ja (1973) song Vaada Karo Nahin Chhodoge Tum Mera Saath.
IMAGE: Rakhee in Tapasya.
Moushumi Chatterjee’s career as a leading lady comfortably encompassed the birth of her two daughters, Payal and Meghaa.
Rakhee’s career got a second wind after daughter Meghnaa was born in December 1973.
Tapasya (1975) and Kabhi Kabhie (1976) made Raakhee an even bigger star than in her pre-motherhood days.
IMAGE: Hema Malini in Naseeb.
Hema Malini got barely a breather when she got pregnant and delivered daughter Esha Deol in 1981, the same year as her hat-trick of superhits: Naseeb, Kranti and Meri Awaaz Suno.
As the reigning queen, Hema had dozens of assignments on hand and, like many everyday women, worked through her pregnancy.
The actress resorted to imaginative sartorial solutions to hide her pregnancy from the camera.
Hema didn’t apply the brakes to her career post motherhood and continued to have releases until the middle of the decade.
Satte Pe Satta, Rajput and Aandhi Toofan released after Esha was born.
IMAGE: Sridevi in the television show Malini Iyer.
But the next generation of Hindi film heroines took the time-tested maternity break once they started a family.
Sridevi disappeared from the screen for six years after daughter Janhvi was born in 1997 before reclaiming the spotlight with the television show, Malini Iyer.
She then bided her time for an astonishing 15 years before she made her cinematic comeback with English Vinglish in 2012.
IMAGE: Madhuri Dixit in Aaja Nachley.
After Madhuri Dixit’s elder son Arin was born in 2003, she went missing from the screen till Aaja Nachley (2007).
Kajol took a three-year hiatus between the birth of daughter Nysaa in 2003 and her next film Fanaa in 2006.
Aishwarya Rai had a bitter experience when she lost Madhur Bhandarkar’s Heroine after her pregnancy was announced.
Once daughter Aaradhya was born in 2011, she stayed away from the screen for nearly half-a-decade till Jazbaa (2015).
IMAGE: Kareena Kapoor, seen here with Aamir Khan, was pregnant with Jeh during the shooting of Laal Singh Chadha.
More recently, Kareena Kapoor, Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt have asserted that they want the best of both worlds.
They demonstrated that they can be loving, nurturing mothers offscreen while also retaining their status as glamorous thespians onscreen.
Kareena’s career, in fact, witnessed a marked upswing after the birth of son Taimur in 2016 — Veere Di Wedding (2018) and Good Newwz (2019) proved she had made the right decision.
Deepika did take several months of maternal leave to dote on daughter Dua, but has now inked deals with big-ticket productions like King opposite Shah Rukh Khan and Jawan director Attlee’s forthcoming biggie opposite Allu Arjun.
Alia Bhatt’s high profile marriage and motherhood to little Raha has not come in the way of signing and working in plum assignments like Yash Raj’s Alpha and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Love And War.
IMAGE: The song Tum Kya Mile in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani was Alia Bhatt’s first song after Raha’s birth.
There was a time when heroines had their work-life equation chalked out differently.
A senior actress had once confided in me the mindset of her generation: “We worked in films for a decade, and thereafter, once our careers started fading, we got married and started a family.”
But today’s leading ladies enjoy long careers as romantic leads; this screen longevity has rarely been seen before.
Kareena has been a leading lady now for 25 years, Deepika for almost two decades and Alia for over a decade.
There’s no way these ladies can wait till the end of the acting careers before they become mothers. Moreover, there’s no need to.
IMAGE: Kiara Advani at the MET Gala. Photograph: Mario Anzuoni/Reuters
Post motherhood, Deepika and Alia are still the most popular actresses in Hindi films. And a pregnant Kiara Advani can triumphantly walk the red carpet at MET Gala.
Stray hiccups notwithstanding, it’s a happy sign of changing times.
Today, the sheer number of top-tier actresses who are also mothers is unprecedented, establishing that motherhood and movies are no longer mutually exclusive.
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff
