'K3G' to 'Daddy': Bollywood films that explore daddy issues
A "father-son bond carved in blood," says the tagline of Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Animal, releasing on December 1. Rated 'A' for its macabre violence, the film's central premise is the turbulent, toxic, and tumultuous relationship between a father (Anil Kapoor) and his son (Ranbir Kapoor). With this theme, Animal has become the latest Hindi film to dissect daddy issues. Here are some others.
'Daddy'
In the appropriately titled Daddy, Mahesh Bhatt gave his daughter Pooja Bhatt the central role of a character called Pooja, while Anupam Kher played her down-on-his-luck, rugged, and alcoholic father, Anand. The film is based on the highs and lows of their relationship as Anand struggles daily to reach a step closer to understanding and loving his daughter while navigating their irreparably torn relationship.
'Papa Kahte Hain'
Papa Kehte Hain featured Jugal Hansraj, Mayuri Kango, Kher, and Alok Nath, and was directed by Bhatt. In the film, Krishan (Kher) has a ruptured relationship with his daughter Sweety (Kango), to the point that she isn't allowed to even talk to him or try to get closer to him. Eventually, she spends years wondering why that is, and PKH explores their problematic dynamic.
'K3G'
While Karan Johar may constantly argue that "it's all about loving the family" through his grand family dramas, sometimes, toxicity runs too deep in familial relations to ever be eliminated. In Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... Yash Raichand (Amitabh Bachchan) played a hard-on-the-outside, harder-on-the-inside patriarch, who cut ties with his son over his decision to marry a girl lower than them in the social hierarchy.
'Udaan'
Not overestimated when called a modern-day classic, Vikramaditya Motwane's Udaan speaks to a lot of young adult Indians. It zooms in on the immense toxicity that oozes out of Bhairav Singh (Ronit Roy)—he's an alcoholic, stern, stone-cold, and doesn't care for his sons. His toxic traits and unwillingness to change threaten the lives of his sons Rohan (Rajat Barmecha) and Arjun (Aayan Boradia).
'Taare Zameen Par'
While Ishaan Awasthi was too young to realize what he was going through, his father, Nandkishore Awasthi, being decades older, should have known better in Taare Zameen Par. Nandkishore's ruthless attitude toward his son, coupled with his merciless approach when it came to understanding Ishaan's problems, made him the definition of a person ruled by flaws he could have easily presided over, but didn't.
