“It’s all about loving your parents” : the parentchild relationship in Bollywood productions

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to show how the relationship between Indian parents and their children is presented in Bollywood productions and how it has changed in recent 20 years. In the Indian culture family bonds are very important and, despite the constant development of India and its opening up towards Western cultures, the Indian still obey their traditions. The respect of a child towards his or her parents is important in every culture, but in India there is a strong relationship between parents and their children. Bollywood films very often reflect the society’s views and current issues of today’s India. The productions of the Indian film industry in Mumbai have an impact on Indian people’s lives as well. The same concerns Indian families, because on the one hand, the films show how the Indian families function in the reality; on the other hand, Indian cinematography often inspires people and causes a change in people’s behaviour. The relationship between parents and children has also changed throughout the years. It may be seen in the modern cinematography that the parent-child bonds look different than they used to. This presentation consists of the analysis of a few Bollywood films in terms of the parent-child relationship and it is devoted to the issue of changes in the perception of the Indian family. As the Indian film director, Karan Johar, says: “it’s all about loving your parents”.