Bollywood actress Sridevi is a woman of few words. But when you are about to turn 300-films-old on July 6 with the release of the thriller Mom, that staggering statistic can be an effective antidote to her studied restraint.
Her body of work speaks much louder than any slick, well-rehearsed promotional campaign that journalists are usually acquainted with.
Superlatives about the film’s perceived strengths are limited and this inscrutable icon keeps it to the point.
“Mom is an emotional family drama, that’s also thrilling. It’s the story about a mother and a daughter, their emotions and how their lives change. Being a mother myself helped me understand those emotions better,” said Sridevi in an interview with Gulf News tabloid! over the phone from Mumbai.
It was clear that the genre of her latest film, a mystery about an avenging mom who will go to any lengths to protect her child, didn’t allow her to go into the details. The trailer was so cryptic that it gave nothing way.
Boney Kapoor and Sridevi with daughters Jhanvi and Khushi.
“It was deliberate. The idea was to lure the viewers... Nowadays, when the audience goes to see the film, you feel as you have already watched the film because the trailer gives away the best scenes and highlights. The effect gets diluted. Our director Ravi [Udyawar] and we all sat together and decided we will only give so much away,” said Boney Kapoor, Mom’s co-producer and Sridevi’s husband of 21 years.
But it wasn’t the personal relationship between the actress and the producer that propelled her to spearhead the thriller. Her reasoning is simple.
“I am not in a hurry to do films. I just don’t want to do films for the sake of it. I am busy with my kids and I have lots to do in my life. So, if at all I am doing a film, it has to be worth leaving my kids, my husband and my home. I should be convinced that it’s worth my time,” said Sridevi.
She may be a long-enduring matinee idol powered by blockbusters such as the cult sci-fi fantasy film, Mr. India; the delicious love-triangle, Chandini; or the recent drama English Vinglish, where she played an Indian housewife who saw mastering spoken English as a symbol of earning dignity among her anglophile children. But she likes to keep things real. Mom touches upon the realities of being a parent in today’s times.
“My character, Devaki, is like every mother in this world. She’s very protective about her children and she will do anything to ensure their safety. That quality is there in any mother. I am very protective about my kids and I could relate to Devaki’s concern and fears,” said Sridevi.
According to her producer husband, she’s a hands-on mother who’s involved with her children’s daily lives — she wouldn’t shirk from going to the fish market to get Jhanvi and Khushi their favourite seafood.
“I am a simple, ordinary mother. I am after their lives all the time, making their lives miserable saying eat, eat, eat and sleep, sleep, sleep... But there’s one dialogue which says our job as a parent is not to make them understand, but to understand them. This is very poignant and important, that it is not necessary to give them lectures. I apply that to my life too,” said Sridevi, an actress who enjoys tremendous goodwill among her fans.
It isn’t an exaggeration to claim that when Sridevi is in a film, then it wouldn’t be a total waste of time — a belief that cultivated over the decades with her interesting mix of flashy entertainers.
But both Sridevi and Kapoor credit that kind of universal popularity to her prudent approach to accepting films.
“I play roles now that suit my age,” said Sridevi, 53.
“That’s something she should be complimented for. She’s smart enough that she is not dwelling in her past roles and isn’t in the process of re-doing those very roles that made her popular in the past,” said Kapoor.
If she had stuck to her old formula, then Sridevi would have opted for cute, flirtatious characters that worked for her when she was in her twenties or early thirties, but may not suit someone older.
Akshaye Khanna in ‘Mom’.
For Mom, Sridevi relied on her instincts as always. Plus, she relished the prospect of acting alongside powerhouse talents such as Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Akshaye Khanna (“each more brilliant than the other”).
“When Boney ji came to me and told me one line, I was hooked. And when I heard the full script, it really touched me,” said Sridevi, while her husband poured money into it because he loved the mother-daughter dynamic.
The prep was far from easy. As a part of getting into the character of Devaki in Mom, also co-produced by Zee Studios International, Sridevi cut off from a brief bit from her husband and her daily life.
“She becomes the part she plays… And when you have a husband like me who is finicky about food and those little things, it’s only understandable that she wanted to be left alone so that she can dwell into the process of becoming that part,” said Kapoor, who has produced Sridevi-led dramas including Mr. India and Judaai.
Perhaps, that kind of dedication to her roles explains her long innings in mainstream Hindi movies.
“But honestly, I never look back. I feel that this [Mom] is my first release. I feel odd watching myself in movies or on TV, so I never watch. So I just look forward. So right now, Mom is all I have on my mind right now. I feel this is my first film, my first release of my career.”
BONEY KAPOOR’S TAKE
Bollywood producer Boney Kapoor, who has produced over 40 Hindi films, gives his take on...
A possibility to a sequel to Mr. India: “We are definitely working on it — either a reboot or a sequel. Various ideas are being suggesting and we are brainstorming now.”
Sridevi and her legendary charm: “Imagine an actor who started working at the age of four and it is her 50th year of her professional career. Her focus is still the same. When we call her 300th film, it could be more. Her mother who used to manage her career is no more. — there is no proper record, but I have put numbers together. She is unmatched and there’s no one like her — it is a fact. I can watch her 24/7.”
What propels him to produce a particular movie: “I have never had a preconceived notion about what I should do or what I should take up... I am not that intelligent. I am like a common man who is dictated by what I like and I sometimes feel that if something good, I should produce it... Aks was my first film that I distributed, It wasn’t a mainstream film but I loved what I saw in it I liked. There are no fixed notions on what I should pick up or follow, it has to first appeal to me.”
His propensity to work with his own family members like his wife, his brother Anil Kapoor: “Anil was the most easily accessible star at home, so why not? Mom is my third film with my wife and there’s a definite comfort level... They have suited the parts too.”
DIRECTOR SPEAKS
Mom is director Ravi Udyawar’s first Hindi feature and he couldn’t have asked for a better team. While Sridevi, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Akshaye Khanna lead the acting front, the music has been composed by Oscar-winner A.R. Rahman.
“It’s a dream come true. All the names on my wishlist are here... For a thriller, the sound plays an important part in building the story and the atmosphere,” said Udyawar in an interview over phone.
So how did the idea of Mom come about?
“I have believed that there is no stronger bond than what a mother shares with her child. At any point of conflict, the question remains how far she would go to protect her child without caring for the consequences.” Both Sridevi and actors like Siddiqui transformed themselves for their roles.
“Sometimes the paparazzi waiting outside the sets couldn’t recognise Nawazuddin in his clothes and make-up. That helped us in protecting the details,” he said.
Don’t miss it
Mom is out in the UAE on July 6.
