Listicle: 10 screen grandmas that no one should mess with

We’ll watch Shabana Azmi in anything. But we particularly delight when she’s a badass. In the Netflix show, she plays a daadi-to-be, who takes on drug lords to protect her daughter-in-law’s tiffin service. Sheilaben has tattoos, she knows how to handle the mafia. She’s also calm and subtle, the way most Indian grannies are. Who knew there was so much to fear from a pursed lip?

You probably know actor June Squibb as the hot-sauce-recipe robber from Modern Family. In this Netflix movie, she plays it so wholesome, so pure, you can almost smell her talcum powder. But when a phone scam robs Thelma of $10,000, she goes rogue. Sneakers, shades and game face on, the 93-year-old takes matters into her busy hands, getting even, without losing her grandmotherly glory.

This Thai movie on Netflix does what it says in the title. Congee-serving Amah (played by Taew Usha Seamkhum) is sharp-tongued, sharp-eyed but terminally ill. Is her suddenly warm grandson eyeing her wealth? He microwaves water for her tea, he’s been cutting corners with caretaking. It’s all scolding and suspicion until it becomes a tearjerker about loyalty and love.

Who knows what secrets grandmas hide in their layered shawls and flaky parathas? In the Jio Hotstar movie, the Batras are feuding just as the family home gets torn down to build a high-rise. Surprise: Matriarch Kusum Batra (Sharmila Tagore) is moving to Puducherry. Turns out, she’s finally living her life on her terms, and is free to love the person she wants. Dream big, grandma!

This is a movie about a woman getting pregnant late in life. The mother-in-law role could have fallen into so many stereotypes. But Surekha Sikri keeps it real. She struggles to process the fact that her son and his wife are having another kid after two grown sons. But she won’t put up with catty jibes from anyone. She has only a few scenes, but they’re fire.

Who do you think shaped Moana’s wild energy if not Gramma Tala (Rachel House)? She’s more than the village crazy lady – she believes in the magic of the ocean. She’s Moana’s confidant and sounding board. And she empowers Moana to sail solo so she can save their people. And a manta ray for an angel avatar? Only the best grandmas get to do that.

OK, at this point, only the stans are watching. But at the height of DA mania, we watched the dowager spar with everyone: Family, friends, even the rapidly changing post-Edwardian world. “What is a weekend?” she exploded at dinner. “Don’t be defeatist, dear. It’s very middle class.” “Alas, I am beyond impropriety.” The meme-worthy aristocrat we didn’t know we needed.

At this point of human history, Julie Andrews can deliver a vibe of genteel, cultured, comedic propriety with her voice alone. She does it in the film franchise, as Ma to Felonius and Dru Gru. This is a granny who shows kids embarrassing baby pics of their dad; who delivers karate chops; and who can scowl through cat-eye frames and make you rethink every villainous scheme.

After their pianist patriarch’s death, a family and their ancestral home seems hopelessly entangled in petty politics. But over 13 days of mourning, the widow, Savitri (Supriya Pathak), looks on in silence. Don’t mistake it for simple-mindedness, she’s waiting for the moment to turn the tables and be the last one standing. Don’t cross this granny!

The OG film has spawned a prehistoric cinematic universe that includes a granny sloth. She’s slow, sure. But with Wanda Sykes voicing her, what else could she be but lowkey unhinged? Gladys sleeps through storms, she misplaces a pet whale. She also threatens to bury everyone in her family and dance on their graves. This, kids, is what we call Big Pleistocene Energy.