Father’s Day: 5 Silver Screen Dads Who Never Fail To Tug At Our Hearts

Popular Indian cinema typically depicts heroes in larger-than-life positions, but there are other films that demonstrate how males can teach, nurture, and convey kindness. Here are a few videos for Father’s Day that remind us of the long-term influence that a father figure may have on our lives.

In this film, a 70-year-old man and an eight-year-old child are connected. Well, they’re not linked by blood, but by love. The 2019 Tamil comedy, which was produced by Yoodlee Productions, takes place in a hamlet in Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu. The protagonist, Karuppu Durai (Mu Ramaswamy), is in a coma, and his relatives, including his children, feel that euthanasia is the best decision given the circumstances. The elderly man regains consciousness and flees from his family, only to encounter an orphan, Kutty (Naga Vishal), a boy full of vitality and enthusiasm. They form a strong relationship, and Kutty begins to refer to him as KD before fulfilling all of the elderly man’s demands. Through Kutty, the grandpa rediscovers his inner child and becomes the father figure Kutty has never had.  The moving visual treat goes deeply into human emotions, demonstrating the richness of relationships motivated by mutual concern and caring rather than selfishness. The Madhumita-directed film earned the Jury Award at the Singapore South Asian Film Festival and is now accessible on Amazon Prime Video.

Yoodlee’s ‘Hamid’, an adaption of the Urdu drama ‘Phone No. 786’ set in Kashmir, has excellent production quality and a well-woven plot. Following the terrible disappearance of his father (Sumit Kaul), the film’s young hero, Hamid (Talha Arshad Reshi), phones random phone numbers to contact God and inquire about his whereabouts. One day, a CRPF Jawan answers the phone, and an emotional link forms between them. The soldier longs to be with his eight-month-old daughter, and despite the lack of a clear cause to connect, the two begin to provide healing and consolation to one another. ‘Hamid’ received the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Urdu. If you’ve not seen it still, then it is now available on Netflix.

This is the story of a man who goes to great measures to ensure that his daughters are second to none. This multi-award-winning biographical sports drama is based on a real tale of former wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat, who resolved to teach his daughters to win the medals he couldn’t win for India. Aamir Khan lifts the movie and its central character with extraordinary gravity, while Fatima Sana Shaikh plays Geeta Phogat and Sanya Malhotra portrays Babita Kumari. Initially, Mahavir suffers criticism and taunts from society, as well as resistance from his daughters and wife, but his perseverance, tenacity, and trust in his daughters propel them to international success. Geeta has won India’s first Commonwealth gold medal in wrestling. The film has been directed by Nitesh Tiwari and produced by Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao. It is currently available on Netflix to watch.

This 2020 sequel to the 2017 smash ‘Hindi Medium’ is the farewell film of iconic actor Irrfan Khan, and it depicts the complexity of a father-daughter bond. It movingly illustrates how far a father will go to support his daughter’s desire of studying abroad, even if his dreams have never extended beyond his tiny sweet store in Udaipur. Irrfan portrays widower Champak Ghasiteram Bansal, while Radhika Madan plays his daughter Tarika. Tarika receives a scholarship to study at a London institution, but fate intervenes, forcing Champak to find a means to pay her studies. The father and daughter’s relationship is also strained on this voyage full of twists and turns, but they eventually learn how to hang on to what is most important to them. A feeling of belonging and connection to one another.  Homi Adajania directed the Maddock Films production, which is presently streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.

This 2015 Shoojit Sarkar film depicts a strained yet enduring connection between a father and his daughter. This slice-of-life drama follows a cantankerous and dominating father, 70-year-old Bhashkor Banerjee (Amitabh Bachchan), and his rebellious daughter Piku (Deepika Padukone), who loves him but struggles to live with his idiosyncrasies, which include continuous conversations about his bowel motions. They dispute frequently over major and minor issues, yet they remain inseparable, despite Bhashkor’s frequent interference in Piku’s love life and refusal to marry her to any of her suitors. He even presents her to a potential spouse as a financially, emotionally, and sexually autonomous 30-year-old woman. Then, during a long road journey, Piku forms a fragile relationship with Rana (Irrfan Khan), the owner of a cab business, causing even more stress between the father and daughter. N P Singh, Ronnie Lahiri, and Sneha Rajani produced the heartwarming film, which can be watched on SonyLiv.

Here’s wishing all the fathers in the world a very Happy Father’s Day.