Nirupa Roy – The Original Maa Of Bollywood We Still Look Up to

Called the eternal mother, queen of misery and Bollywood’s maa, Kokila Kishorechandra Bulsara was truly the one and only original Maa of Bollywood. If the name sounds unfamiliar then we don’t blame you as she was popularly known as Nirupa Roy to everyone off screen and as Maa to everyone on the silver screen. In the 50 years of her career, she played a mother to many characters in the movies of 70s and 80s and her acting skills made her achieve cult status as the Maa of Bollywood.

Nirupa Roy’s first Hindi film was Amar Raj and no she did not play a mother in it! Her first role as a matriarch came in Bimal Roy’s critically acclaimed film Do Bigha Zamin. She then played a mother to Shammi Kapoor in Tonga Wali and won a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing a mother to a much-older Dev Anand in Munimji. Her mature face and ability to immerse herself in the role of a mother made her the first choice to play motherly characters at that time.

Mere Paas Maa Hai!

Deewar catapulted Nirupa Roy to the status of ‘Mother of all time in Bollywood’ as she pulled at our heart strings with her teary eyes and steely resolve of a woman who has to deal with an errant son. Mother India may have been a cult movie with strong female character but Nirupa Roy’s clichéd character of a mother who always has tough choices to make, has to deal with her difficult fate and showers unconditional love on her children no matter what they do, struck a chord with cine-lovers that still makes us nostalgic. Who doesn’t remember the famous dialogue ‘Mere paas maa hai’ delivered by Shashi Kapoor in a reference to Nirupa Roy’s character in one of the most iconic scenes in Indian cinema?

Maa To The Baap Of Bollywood

Nirupa Roy followed this by playing a mother to Amitabh Bachchan in several other blockbuster movies like Amar Akbar Anthony, Mard and Muqaddar Ka Sikander. Her role of a blind mother who loses her eyesight and her sons in the very beginning of the movie, her struggles and the miraculous reunion with her family at the end was the high point of the Manmohan Desai film. She again played Big B’s mother in the movie Lal Badshah and that was the last time that the silver screen saw her as a mother.

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Maa To The Father, Maa To The Son

She not only played a mother to Dharmendra’s character in the emotionally charged movie Maa in 1976 but also played the role of a mother to his son Sunny Deol in the 1983 film Betaab. The age gap may have been remarkable for the actor but she convinced us all every time she became a maa for us on the big screen.

The intensity with which Nirupa Roy displayed the pathos and jubilation of a mother brought in an element of realism that no other Bollywood maa has been able to replicate ever since. In real life she was a mother to two sons but she will always be the original maa of Bollywood for all of us.

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