Animal and 5 other Bollywood films centred on father-son relationships

So, the film trailer for the Ranbir Kapoor starrer ‘Animal’ is finally out. Right from the time the film trailer was released, it has become the talk of the town, and there are many reasons for this. The fact that the movie centers on a father-son relationship between Anil Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor's characters is one of its many highlights. Let's take a look at some other Bollywood films that are based on father-son relationships.

Udaan
Director: Vikramaditya Motwane
Stars: Rajat Barmecha, Ronit Roy, Aayan Boradia, Ram Kapoor and Manjot Singh

Whenever there is a mention of a father-son relationship, the Vikramaditya Motwane-directed ‘Udaan’ has to find itself in the top three films on the list. The story of ‘Udaan’ revolves around a 17-year-old student called Rohan (Rajat Barmecha) and three of his friends who get dismissed from the prestigious Bishop Cotton School (Shimla) after they are caught watching an adult film. After that, Rohan is sent back home to his alcoholic father, Bhairav (Ronit Roy) and his young half-brother, Arjun. 

After Rohan’s return home, Bhairav takes total control of the former’s life and makes him work in his factory. Bhairav is blind to Rohan’s passion for writing. Unable to bear the mental and physical torture, Rohan and Arjun escape from the clutches of their father. What happens next forms the crux of the story.

Also Read: Animal trailer Twitter reaction- Fans root for Ranbir Kapoor, Anil Kapoor starrer, declare Ranbir Kapoor ‘greatest actor alive’ 

The fact remains that even though ‘Udaan’ did not portray an ideal father, it highlighted the importance of a father in our lives. The film did not do as well as expected at the box office, but it won critical acclaim. It gave Bollywood a raw and unassuming talent in the form of Rajat Barmecha.

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Paa
Director: R Balki
Stars: Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan, Paresh Rawal

With a title like ‘Paa’ and a director like R Balki, there is no way the film could go unnoticed. Paa is about a man (Abhishek Bachchan) and his son (Amitabh Bachchan) who suffers from a rare ailment called progeria, which makes the child look five times older than he actually is. Kudos to the real-life Bachchan father-son team for acing their portrayals in this film. Hats off also to director R Balki for conceptualising the script with the utmost conviction.

Even though Amitabh and Abhishek are real-life father and son, the film had Abhishek play father to a 12-year-old Amitabh. Full marks to Vidya Balan for providing able support to the father-son team. The sensitiveness with which R Balki handled the film, progeria and most importantly, the father-son relationship makes this a classic.

Also Read: Animal trailer review - Ranbir Kapoor's violent transformation brings a rollercoaster of emotion and brutality 

Wake Up Sid!
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Ranbir Kapoor, Konkona Sen Sharma, Anupam Kher, Supriya Pathak

The Ranbir Kapoor starrer ‘Wake Up Sid!’ marked Ayan Mukerji’s debut as a director. The film revolves around the carefree and young Siddharth Mehra, aka Sid (Ranbir), who is the son of rich parents. Seeing his lack of interest in academics, his father, Ram Mehra (Anupam Kher), makes him work for his company, which he fails at. 

Life takes a drastic turn for Sid when he gets to know that he hasn't passed college, after which he decides to leave his house to live on his own with his friend, Aisha (Konkona Sen Sharma). It is here that he realises that nothing in the world is free and that he has to work for everything, something that his father told him time and again. The film reaches its crescendo when Sid rushes to his father’s office to show him his first payment.

Despite ‘Wake Up Sid!’ Being his debut film, Ayan Mukerji did a fantastic job highlighting the relationship between the father and son. The film, till date, remains one of Ranbir Kapoor’s finest films of his career.

Waqt: The Race Against Time
Director: Vipul Amrutlal Shah
Stars: Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Shefali Shah

The film is about Aditya (Akshay Kumar), a carefree young man without any ambitions in life. After he gets married to his girlfriend Pooja (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) without telling his family, his father, Ishwar (Amitabh Bachchan), takes it upon himself to instill a sense of responsibility in his son. To achieve this, Ishwar tells Aditya and his wife to leave home.

It is then that Aditya realises the importance of his father’s advice on hard work. His hard work resulted in Aditya becoming a movie star. Even though he has professional success, Aditya refuses to mend ties with his father. This is only until he finds out that his father is suffering from cancer and that he did all this to make him realise the importance of being a responsible person.

Vipul Amrutlal Shah deserves kudos for highlighting the extremely important relationship between a father and his son in this film.

Shakti
Director: Ramesh Sippy
Stars: Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Rakhee Gulzar, Smita Patil, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Amrish Puri

How can a list of films about father-son relationships be complete without the legendary Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan-starrer ‘Shakti’? This film brought both actors together on screen for the first time. Shakti is about the relationship between an honest police officer, DCP Ashwini Kumar (Dilip Kumar), and his son, Vijay Kumar (Amitabh Bachchan). Things go haywire for Vijay when he gets kidnapped, for he is unable to forgive his father for this. This is one of the earliest films in Bollywood to showcase a father-son relationship on screen. It's only towards the end that Vijay realises his father’s importance in his life.

Filmmaker Ramesh Sippy did an excellent job by not just casting the two Bollywood legends but also highlighting the importance of a father and his words in a son’s life.