From 'Masoom' to 'Shakti', Bollywood’s best father-son encounters on screen

What is at the heart of SRK’s Jawan? It is a mainstream father-son revenge story that is inherently Bollywood. However, there is no cinematic conflict in the father-son relationship. That brings me to another big film to be released this year whose dramatic narrative is all about a father-son conflict: Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal. An intense teaser featuring a disturbing scene in which Anil Kapoor is mercilessly slapping his young son (Ranbir) was recently released. Despite the toxicity, the son is conditioned to believe that his father was the ‘best father in the world’. It reminded me of another intense father-son drama Udaan (2010), where the father (Ronit Roy) perpetually vents his frustration on his son. However, unlike Animal, the son here considers his father to be ‘the worst father in the world’. Eventually, we witness how the son liberates himself from his father’s toxic grip.

Bollywood has a rich tradition of crafting grand, star-studded father-son narratives on the silver screen, right from Mughal-E-Azam (1960), Awaara (1951), Aakhree Raasta (1986) to Paa (2009). Watching the Animal teaser evoked a sense of nostalgia, reminding me of my favourite father-son scenes.

The quintessential film that explores the complexities of the father-son dynamic is Ramesh Sippy’s Shakti (1982). Though it was inspired by Sivaji Ganesan’s hit Tamil film Thanga Pathakkam (1960), screenwriters Salim-Javed reimagined the script retaining only the shocking climax: an honest policeman shooting his son for duty. It is also a rare Hindi mainstream film where the power of silence surpasses the impact of dialogue. Remember the poignant scene where the son (Amitabh Bachchan) consoles a weeping father (Dilip Kumar) on Rakhee’s death? No words are exchanged, yet their eyes convey a sense of shared pain and loss.