Changing Motherhood Norms In Bollywood And The Leading Ladies Who Never Settled For Less

There is a glaring difference between the Bollywood we are seeing in 2017 and the Bollywood that we saw somewhere in the 90’s. While there is still a lot of disparity between the actors and the actresses in the vibrant cinema industry, thankfully the entire age cycle of actresses has gone for a toss. Marriage no more means the death of an actress’s career.

So many actresses in the first place do not chose to settle down till they are nearly in their mid 30’s and we are glad that they have established the fact the marriages are more a matter of choice and not age. The next level of facing rejection in the industry has been motherhood. Many popular actresses voluntarily gave up acting to bring up their kids and their choices are well respected but what about those who do not want to settle at that and do not want to give up their acting careers?

After a long journey of struggles for actresses we are here in 2017 and this is what motherhood looks like in Bollywood –

Working after maternity – There was whole lot of hue and cry over NO Pregnancy clauses in Bollywood films which the actresses had to sign while taking up a major film project. This came soon after director Madhur Bhandkar discovered that the leading lady of his film, Heroine, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was expecting.

Bollywood has finally come to a point where motherhood doesn’t hold actress back from work. Kareena Kapoor Khan who became a proud mother in December 2016 had already fixed her work commitments even after pregnancy, in fact she really went out of sight for long even when she was pregnant. From ramp walks, photoshoots to advertisements she did all and it was all received overwhelmingly well. She is now gearing up for her first film after pregnancy and that is Veere Di Wedding.

Actress Lisa Hydon is slaying it as the hottest Bollywood mommy to be, with her sexy maternity shoots and beach holidays. In fact she was already 3 months pregnant while she was shooting for her webseries, The Trip.

Most popular mothers in the industry including Aishwarya Rai, Sridevi, Raveena Tandon, and Kajol still retain their place as the leading ladies in movies and not playing mothers to other actors and not sitting at home having given up their professions.

Even if some Bollywood actress have left acting for good after motherhood does not mean, they have not been working. Former Bollywood actress Twinkle Khanna realized that acting was never for her and alongside blissful years of parenting she has also been writing inspiring and being an interior designer.

The age of marriage and motherhood – There are still several actresses in the industry who have crossed the threshold of 30 and are not ready to tie the knot yet. With careers high up in their priority list, it doesn’t seem like that even marriage will change much for them. As for motherhood, after a late marriage the actresses are only wanting to plan a family in their late 30’s or even in their 40’s.

Shilpa Shetty and Aishwarya Rai both became mothers at 37. After short maternity leaves from work both caught on with their work and have never had an issue getting back. Rani Mukherji who also be became a mom at 37, is now making her comeback with the film Hichki. Malaika Arora Khan has been hot as ever even long after motherhood and there has never been an issue with people accepting or appreciating her for her songs or work.

Single moms are driven moms – Actress Sushmita Sen has already proved that marriage is not a mandate for  woman to be a mother. She has brought up both her daughters all by herself and we have never had a bigger reason for appreciating her strength. But she has never led herself astray from work and we love her all the more for it.

Malaika Arora Khan has recently filed for divorce with her husband Arbaaz Khan and has got the custody of her son Ayaan. But even with the turmoil of her divorce going on, she has been working and has not given up on commitments like TV shows and her designer brand The Label Life.

Motherhood is an empowering thing and it hold back no woman from pursuing her passion or career. We heartily thank all these ladies from the world of Bollywood for keeping our faith alive and leading by example.