This film, starring the late Irrfan Khan as Champak Bansal, a kind-hearted single father, explored a different kind of paternal sacrifice. When his daughter Tarika dreams of studying in London, Champak initially disapproves but eventually goes to great lengths to support her, even as financial and bureaucratic hurdles mount. The film is a brilliant portrayal of a loving father's unconditional love and the lengths he will go to fulfill his daughter's dreams.

The game-changer arrived with (2015). Suddenly, the baap wasn't a distant authority figure; he was a constipated, hypochondriac, deeply flawed, and utterly lovable human being. Amitabh Bachchan’s character, Bhashkor Banerjee, wasn't protecting Piku’s honor; he was annoying her about his morning routine. And Deepika Padukone’s Piku wasn't a victim; she was a sharp-tongued, capable woman who changed her father’s diapers and ran the business. For the first time, popular media showed that a daughter could be the parent to her father, and that love could exist in sarcastic bickering over plot land in Kolkata.

The era of the Mard (the macho father) is fading. The era of the Befikar (the carefree, involved, confused, loving, and evolving companion father) has finally arrived on our screens.

To understand where we are, we must look at where we began. In classic Hindi cinema, the father-daughter dynamic was almost always a vector for tragedy or sacrifice.

Bhaskor is loud, stubborn, and obsessively vocal about his bowel movements, but he is also fiercely feminist. He proudly tells suitors that his daughter is financially independent and not a virgin, actively discouraging her from getting married just for the sake of societal norms.

Indian television and the booming OTT (Over-The-Top) platform have also contributed to this narrative, often with more nuanced and prolonged story arcs.

Television, specifically daily soaps, remains a laggard. On channels like Star Plus or Colors, the father is still often the Sanskaar ka Thanedar (Police of Values). He marries his daughter off to a conman to save "family honor." The trope of the father disowning a daughter for choosing a different career or a lower-caste partner is still used as a high-drama plot point.

YouTube has given rise to a new breed of storytellers—independent creators and vloggers—who have turned the "Indian dad" into a comedic and relatable archetype. Comedians like have built a following by creating videos that "perfectly capture the essence of Indian dads," humorously showcasing how they react when their children make casual comments, highlighting their unique and loving nature.

Post- Dangal , the floodgates opened. Streaming services (Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+ Hotstar) allowed for nuanced, non-commercial storytelling.

In the end, popular media's most enduring contribution to the baap-beti narrative may be this simple, powerful message: a father's love for his daughter, when freed from the constraints of tradition and ego, is not just a personal bond—it is a force for social transformation, one story at a time.