When fathers empowered daughters: Amitabh Bachchan in Piku to Pankaj Tripathi in Bareilly Ki Barfi

Hindustan Times

15-06-2025

In times where a film like Sanya Malhotra's Mrs. is required to reflect the state of women, there were men, in particular fathers, who have empowered women in Bollywood. Of course, the parenting style changed with the times, but the intent always was to make their daughters feel worthy of love, life, and freedom. Here's celebrating those fathers today!
From Amitabh Bachchan-Deepika Padukone in Piku to Pankaj Tripathi-Kriti Sanon in Bareilly ki Barfi, stream endearing father-daughter entertainers in one place - only on OTTplay Premium
Bitti (Kriti Sanon) is unlike any other woman. She is bold enough to take a trip alone even when coming from a small-town, and can openly talk about any topic under the sun, especially those considered taboo in such rural areas. It is what makes her Bareilly Ki Barfi. The biggest credit for who she is goes to her father Narottam Mishra, played by Pankaj Tripathi, who lets his daughter live the life she wants to lead.
Do we even need to talk about the adorable Bhaskor Banerjee, played by Amitabh Bachchan? Appearing as irritating at first, he leaves an impression unlike any other, especially during his last frame. Banerjee is a single father who raised his daughter to be independent enough to handle everything that life throws her way, and it showed up when she simply left everything to take care of her father. Piku, in every way, was a reflection of her dad and thus, the movie became an adorable tale that an Indian can easily revisit.
A film from early 2000, Yaadein is the story of a father who raised three children all by himself. Raj Puri Singh (Jackie Shroff) is especially close to his youngest daughter Isha (Kareena Kapoor), and her strong will comes from how she has seen her father fight battles while raising the daughters all by himself. Raj constantly chooses to be a father, even in dire circumstances, and that reflects in Isha's behaviour, too. Thus, they both end up as green flags.
We already know what a great Bollywood father Anupam Kher has been through ages. However, Hum Aapke Hain Koun! is a film that tends to be overlooked when it comes to him. Kher played the role of Professor Siddharth Choudhury, who raised two daughters Nisha and Pooja. We already know the kind of values that the sisters adopted and how close they are, but it is the last scene in the Sooraj Barjatya film where Professor Siddharth Choudhury really shines as a father. He always chooses his daughter, and she always chooses his happiness over even her own.
Another father often overlooked in Bollywood is Utpal Dutt in GolMaal. This is mainly because the movie is wrapped in comedy even when the message is of a daughter mimicking her street-smart father who would go lengths for her, and vice-versa. Here, too, it is father and daughter vs. the world, and they would always have each other's backs when it comes to dealing with the ill mentality of the society.