Elderly Abuse is a crime that has to play a lot more importance in our social conversations. There is also a day dedicated to this cause celebrated on June 15 globally as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. Backed by the United Nations itself, the purpose of the day is to educate the people on the prevailing rights of the elder citizens and that they are not being ill-treated by either their family members or outsiders. World Elder Abuse Awareness Day 2020 Date And Significance: Know The History And Objective of Day That Highlights Violence Meted Out to Elders in Society.

The irony comes when we see the issue with regards to India, where elders are supposed to be revered the same way as Gods. And yet, as per a report in Economic Times in 2019, over 71 percent of senior citizens have faced abuse or ill-treatment in the country. From facing neglect from their own children to being abused by them to lonely elders being troubled from outsiders, the crimes committed on the geriatric population are quite a few.

Thankfully, there are programmes that create awareness about this, which includes TV shows and movies. In this special feature, we look at five Bollywood movies that highlighted the issue of elder abuse.

Baghban

Promotional Still of Baghban

The first movie that comes to our mind when we discuss elder abuse is, of course, Baghban. Not many know that this hit movie, directed by the late Ravi Chopra is a remake of the 1937 Hollywood film called Make Way for Tomorrow. Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini plays an elderly couple who are separated by their uncaring selfish kids, on the pretext that they can't afford to take care of both of them. Salman Khan plays their adopted son, who comes as their saviour and shows the other children, how elders should be really treated.

102 Not Out

Rishi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan in 102 Not Out

Amitabh Bachchan recently starred in another film that also highlighted the issue of elderly neglect. In 102 Not Out, he played a playful centenarian father to a seventy plus Rishi Kapoor. Through Kapoor's character whose son never gets down to visit from the States, the movie gradually highlights the the deliberate ignorance of elderly parents by their non-resident kids, who prefer their lives overseas.

Avtaar

A Poster of Avtaar

This 1983 drama has Rajesh Khanna and Shabana Azmi as an elderly couple who are neglected by their two sons, when the father gets partial paralysis and falls in financial crisis. However, the couple do turn things for themselves, when they strike gold and give their children a taste of their own medicine.

Lage Raho Munna Bhai

A Still from Lage Raho Munna Bhai

Rajkumar Hirani's Lage Raho Munna Bhai is one of the best sequels made in Bollywood. The movie may focus on Munna (Sanjay Dutt) and Circuit (Arshad Warsi), and Gandhigiri. But an important plot element in the film is Munna trying to save an elderly home getting demolished by a greedy builder. One of the residents is also shown being dumped in the home by his uncaring son, who of course, gets a Munna Bhai treatment later. Another track also has a senior citizen having difficulty in getting his pension thanks to red-tapism.

Saaransh

A Still from Saaransh

This Mahesh Bhatt film is considered as Anupam Kher's breakout performance. Even though he was just 28, Kher played a 60 plus man in the drama, that is considered as one of the finest performances by the actor. Kher and Rohini Hattangadi play an elderly couple who lose their son in a tragic accident and sees a reason to live in their pregnant, single tenant. Unlike the other films in the list, the neglect and abuse come from outsiders who trouble them for protecting the girl.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 15, 2020 09:01 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).