Kirron Kher birthday: From Khoobsurat to Hum Tum, every time she played the coolest mom in Bollywood

On the occasion of Kirron Kher‘s 69th birthday, indianexpress.com lists the characters played by her that redefined mothers in Bollywood.

Khoobsurat (2014)

Kirron Kher in Khoobsurat. (Photo: Walt Disney Pictures India, Anil Kapoor Films Company)

In the Shashanka Ghosh directorial, Kirron played mother to Sonam Kapoor. Though the film was a love story of Sonam and Fawad Khan, Kirron’s character of a Punjabi mother, Manju Chakravarty hogged the limelight. She was not a regular mother telling her daughter to take care of ‘ghar ki izzat’. Instead, she motivated her daughter to be vocal about her emotions. She got the best dialogues in the movie and her comic timing was perfect as she played the matriarch with elan.

Dostana (2008)

Abhishek Bachchan, Kiron Kher and John Abraham in Dostana. (Express archive photo)

Kirron’s performance was apt for this caricature of a comedy. She was suitably filmy as she dealt with the fact that her son may be gay. As loud as the film, she delivered quite a few comic moments in Dostana.

Om Shanti Om (2007)

Kirron Kher in Om Shanti Om. (Photo:
Red Chillies Entertainment)

In a film about a film, Kirron Kher showcased how she can portray the tropes of a Bollywood mother with grace. Here she was an impoverished mother who runs from pillar to post, looking for her son Om, played by Shah Rukh Khan, for years. The wailing hysterics of Kher as Bela are hilarious, as is her melodrama.

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006)

Preity Zinta, Kirron Kher and Shah Rukh Khan in Kabhi Alvida Na Khena. (Photo: Dharma Productions)

In Karan Johar’s relationship drama, Kirron played Shah Rukh Khan’s mother and was a woman with a mind of her own. She is not blind in her son’s shortcomings, and is neither antagonistic to her daughter-in-law Preity Zinta from the word go. She also portrayed the complexities of being a mother when she gets to know about her son’s extramarital affair.

Rang De Basanti (2006)

Kirron Kher and Aamir Khan in Rang De Basanti.

Kirron’s Mitro, mother of DJ (Aamir Khan) is one of her most believable mother roles. When she scolds DJ and his friends in Punjabi, you relate with her, and more than you, probably your mother relates to her. She asks them to eat rotis with ghee and chides her son for not meeting her often, but she also trusts them to bring a change in society.

Hum Tum

Kirron Kher in Hum Tum. (Photo: Yash Raj Films)

“Zindagi jeena koi aapse seekhe,” Rati Agnihotri’s character tells Kirron’s Parminder Bobby Prakash in Kunal Kohli film Hum Tum. And, we second that. She is a single mother but she never complains about it. She is a dedicated mother but she also has the desire to live a full life.