Mothers of the South: power, suffering, and identity in maternal narratives of South Indian cinema

The representation of motherhood in Indian cinema is often based on conventional gender norms, its ideology and performance aligning with the traditional patrifocal social structures where women are marginalised and oppressed. This paper dissects the portrayals of motherhood in South Indian cinema that intersect with various identities in which such representations redefine the concept of motherhood with diverse socio-cultural, regional, and personal identities. It examines how motherhood representations in South Indian cinema, with a special focus on two pan-Indian blockbuster movie series: Bahubali: The Beginning (2015) and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017); K.G.F: Chapter 1 (2018) and K.G.F: Chapter 2 (2022) glorify the suffering of the mother and fundamentally elevate the mother's role as a commanding and influential force, contributing significantly to the heroic stature of hypermasculine protagonists. It also explores Malayalam cinema, the film industry based in the State of Kerala, to understand how select films represent the mother as an emotionally vulnerable and transformative character. This study delves into cinematic examples that illustrate the evolving nature of matrescence, examining how South Indian filmmakers navigate the complex web of intersecting identities to present multifaceted maternal cultural narratives.