Hema Malini has discussed how her mother played a significant part in influencing her decision to pass on movies like Raj Kapoor’s Satyam Shivam Sundaram and choose scripts like Baghban.
Hema Malini admitted that she needed some convincing to take on the role of a “mother of four” in Ravi Chopra’s family drama Baghban from 2003. She starred in the movie alongside Amitabh Bachchan, and Baghban was a financial triumph. (Read more about Hema Malini’s thoughts on living apart from Dharmendra here: “Nobody aspires to feel like that. However, I’m not pouting.
When Hema was offered Baghban, she was in her early 50s. Prior to it, she was on sabbatical and only appeared in one-off films like Kamal Haasan’s Hey Ram, a 2000 Tamil-Hindi bilingual. Following Baghban, Hema reteamed with Amitabh for the 2004 box office sensation Veer-Zaara.
I said, “Chaar itne bade ladka ka role karne ko bol raha hai” (He’s asking me to play the mother of four adults), after he had already left. How do I go about this? My mother, however, said, “No no no, you must do it!” ‘Why?’ I questioned. “No, the story is excellent. You must take action. she was stalking me, how. ‘Okay, I’ll do it,’ I responded. But prior to that, I felt… You see, I wasn’t doing movies before that. I was working again after a long break. I so pondered, “Why should I do this?” She responded, “No, you have to do this. The position is excellent.
Raj Kapoor approached me and requested that I perform Satyam Shivam Sundaram. But all he said was, “I don’t think you would do it because this is such a film,” However, I really want you to do it. But I’m confident that you won’t. So my mom is sitting there and she says, “No, she won’t do all that,” Hema recalled in the same interview.