Our mothers have always lied to us. “No, I am not hungry, you eat it”. “You can take the last piece; I don’t like it anyway”. Remember the last time you said ‘Ah’ while your mother was eating and she happily fed you that last bite smiling? Mothers always put their children and families before themselves sacrificing their dreams and desires. Mothers are supposed to sacrifice and they are never supposed to be selfish. To begin with, a woman is never given a chance to choose if she wants to be a mother or not. The world we live in today fails to understand that motherhood is not as objective as it seems to be. Motherhood is felt and experienced differently by different people. Motherhood is not merely biological; it is an emotion. Beans Aloo is a short film that discusses the experience of motherhood and the choices of modern women about being a mother, which is a dialogue between every mother and mother-to-be.
Beans Aloo: The Plot
The film opens with the mother cooking her married daughter’s favourite dish. While eating the mother and daughter duo have a casual conversation which takes a diversion when the mother brings in the concept of babies to the table. The daughter on the other hand shows complete disinterest in the topic ends up announcing that she does not want to give birth to a child. The mother is concerned and agitated hearing this and keeps reiterating the difficulties of having a child even after years of planning.
As the film progresses the conversation is no longer about the mother and daughter but about what the others think about the daughter not having a child and how society has already started labelling the couple impotent. But the daughter is least bothered about what the others have got to say but is clearly upset because her mother did not stand up for her when the others ill-mouthed her daughter.
The narrative in the film slowly shifts, as the daughter emphasises the difficulty of raising a child safe and protected in a cruel world like today. But the mother does not give up, she tells the daughter about the beauty of motherhood. But the daughter points out how she sacrificed eating her favourite beans aloo just because her kids hated it. The daughter then tells her mother that she does not have to push a baby out of her to be a mother but she can still experience motherhood.
When the question “Who will take care of you in your old age?” is thrown at the daughter, she reassures her mother that she will adopt a child if it is really necessary. The film ends with the mother accepting the concept of adoption and finally deciding to cook her favourite beans aloo.
The Takeaway
We live in a social setting that still reduces the entire existence of a woman to just a reproductive machine that produces babies for the continuation of their family lineages. “A woman truly becomes a woman only after she becomes a mother” is a common phrase that is shown in various Indian films and media to portray the backward mindset of society. But this short film was different, it showed the progress we are making in accepting and acknowledging the choices that today’s women want to make. It is really heartwarming to encounter our parents and family breaking the stereotypes about women and motherhood. Beans Aloo is a film that will bring a smile to everybody’s face.
