Screening divine monsters: the angry mother in Indian popular cinema
Faculty Advisor
Date
2025
Keywords
the mother, Indian cinema, angry mother
Abstract (summary)
The image of the mother is one of the most recognisable identities in Indian cinema. Representations of the Indian mother often align with the cultural archetype that portrays her as a dutiful, caring, and nurturing figure. The mother is a submissive figure who is confined to the boundaries of the domestic sphere, where she is subjected to exploitation and violence. Mothers that subvert this cultural ideal can be imagined as ‘angry’ because they are powerful transgressive figures who refuse to conform to the normalised oppressiveness of society. This chapter analyses the representation of the angry mother in contemporary Indian cinema, where motherhood is signified as a radical category with the power of destruction. It examines pan-Indian blockbuster films Bahubali: The Beginning (2015), Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017), K.G.F: Chapter 1 (2018), and K.G.F: Chapter 2 (2022), where the mother’s role as a powerful commanding figure helps to cement the heroic stature of the film’s hypermasculine figures. These films not only glorify the mother’s suffering as a quality that idealises Indian motherhood but also reinforce the anger of the mother as a source of inspiration for the male hero to redefine himself as a powerful, destructive figure under the shadow of his mother. For instance, the film K.G.F presents the suffering mother figure to validate its antihero, illustrating how parents perceive their children as instruments for seeking revenge. The image of the angry mother in India is a glorified, powerful agency whose commanding power enforces the male protagonist to act in favour of the mother’s desires.
Publication Information
Raj, S. J. & Suresh, A. K. (2025). Screening divine monsters: The angry mother in Indian popular cinema. In S. Liddy & D. Flynn (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of motherhood on screen (pp. 369-380). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003389712-32
Notes
Item Type
Book Chapter
Language
Rights
All Rights Reserved