In South Asian communities, caregiving is often seen as a moral responsibility rooted in family values. For many, there’s a shared understanding of what it means to “do the right thing” when it comes to caring for their family members. These expectations, however, are not only understood cultural norms, they are also heavily perpetuated through media: shaped, reinforced and often idealized through the stories we consume, particularly in South Asian cinema.Indian family drama films like Baghban, Avtaar, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham and Piku, though they differ in story line and tone, share a powerful common thread: caregiving is not optional, it’s a reflection of character.But as caregiving realities shift within diasporas, a growing gap emerges between these inherited ideals and what immigrant families can sustain. The conditions required to bolster these expectations are often difficult to maintain.Films have defined ‘good’ caregivingResearch on caregiving in South Asian communities consistently highlights the central role of family responsibility, usually rooted in collectivist values, where care is embedded within intergenerational relationships — rarely discussed explicitly or questioned.Films like Baghban, a 2003 family drama, have left a lasting imprint on how caregiving is imagined. The story is emotionally charged: aging parents who once gave everything to their children are neglected in return, a narrative that frames caregiving as a moral obligation, where devotion is rewarded and failure to provide it is treated as a personal shortcoming.But Baghban isn’t an exception. It’s part of a broader cinematic pattern.In Avtaar, aging parents are abandoned by their sons, reinforcing the idea that children who fail to care for their parents have violated a fundamental duty. The 1983 film centres individual responsibility, while leaving unexamined the conditions that might limit a family’s ability to provide care, such as financial instability, changing household structures or competing demands.In Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, respect for parents is central to the family structure, where deviation from parental expectations is portrayed as a rupture of ethics. The 2001 drama reinforces the idea that maintaining family bonds requires prioritizing parental expectations over individual circumstances or constraints.More recently, in 2015, Piku offers a different, more contemporary portrayal. The comedy follows a daughter caring for her aging father while managing her career and personal life. Unlike earlier films, caregiving here is not romanticized. It is messy, frustrating, deeply human and constant. Yet even within this more grounded depiction, care remains largely individualized, with responsibility resting primarily on the daughter. This also highlights how caregiving often becomes a gendered duty rather than shared role.These cinematic features present caregiving as something that unfolds within families without negotiation, planning or external support. Even when caregiving is shown as difficult, it is rarely depicted as something that could be shared beyond the family.And over time, these portrayals become more than entertainment. They contribute to a shared cultural script of what “good caregiving” is supposed to look like.Cultural expectations meet diaspora realitiesFor many South Asian families living outside their countries of origin, caregiving unfolds in a very different environment.Migration reshapes family structures. Households become smaller. Extended family support may no longer be physically accessible. At the same time, dual-income households are common, and competing responsibilities — work, childcare and financial pressures — become part of everyday life.Research has shown these structural shifts significantly influence caregiving capacity, even as cultural expectations remain strong.This creates a relentless tension: expectations shaped in one reality are now being lived out in another. In many diaspora settings, families are navigating distance from extended relatives who might otherwise share caregiving responsibilities, limiting everyday support.At the same time, access to culturally and linguistically appropriate services remains uneven, and the cost of formal care can be prohibitive. Caregiving is no longer supported by the same networks or resources, even as expectations remain unchanged.When caregiving is seen as a natural extension of family roles, sometimes caregivers don’t identify themselves as such. As a result, they may be less likely to seek out or access formal supports, even when those supports are available. Studies have also highlighted how cultural expectations, combined with limited awareness of services and concerns about stigma, can further impact caregiving experiences and decision-making.What emerges is not a lack of care but a mismatch between expectation and capacity. Families may feel a strong sense of responsibility but also find themselves constrained in ways that are rarely acknowledged in dominant narratives. When caregiving is framed primarily through ideals of sacrifice and devotion, there is little space to talk about anything else.And this reality has consequences. Caregivers often take on significant emotional, physical and financial strain, increasing the risk for burnout. In many families, this responsibility falls disproportionately on women, who are more likely to balance caregiving alongside work and other household roles, intensifying these pressures.Policies and services that don’t take cultural differences into account often assume that families will take on caregiving responsibilities without fully understanding the limited capacity immigrant families are often dealing with. This can result in insufficient support.Rethinking caregiving idealsSouth Asian cinema has played a significant role in shaping how caregiving is imagined, emphasizing values of care, respect and family connection. These are not values that need to be discarded, but they do need to be situated within the realities families are navigating today. And this is even more critical when those families are living outside of their collectivist countries of origin.Caregiving is shaped by time, place and the systems that surround us, not just culture. Recognizing this allows for a more honest conversation about what caregiving looks like in practice and what families in the South Asian diaspora actually need to sustain it.When expectations remain unchanged in the face of drastically shifting realities, the burden of care only grows. It is quietly carried by those trying to live up to ideals that were never designed for them in the first place.Navjot Gill-Chawla does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.