Sridevi has always had this problem: Shobha De

Sridevi has a problem. Sridevi has always had this problem: she is a bit too talented for her own good. While lesser beings get away with chalega performances, we demand a mega-act from Sri every time.

For when it is a “Sridevi film” we are talking about, the pressure on Sri to dominate and eat up the screen is non-negotiable. I feel very protective towards Sridevi. She doesn’t require my protection. Sridevi is a strong and determined woman, and not the simpering simpleton she publicly projects. Sri is powerful enough to consciously choose to hide behind a wall. In the old days, that wall had a name. And that wall was a person – her own mom. Sridevi was like a ventriloquist’s dummy back then. Her standard, mechanical response to any question was a nervous,

(Shobhaa De is an established writer, columnist, opinion shaper and social commentator, who is considered an authority on popular culture.)

Goddess Sridevi is lost to Bollywood’s eternal clichés on sexual assault

Sridevi-starrer Mom is brutal and for the most part a terrifying yet riveting film. The film deals with the horror and trauma a rape victim experiences and debutant director Ravi Udyawar has done an outstanding job of balancing the drama with equal amount of shock, thrill and honest emotions. The movie doesn’t make you cringe like recent thrillers such as Kaabil which also had a similar theme of being a revenge thriller centered around sexual assault.

Devki Sabarwal (Sridevi) is a high school teacher who is trying to win her over step daughter Arya, who doesn’t quite warm up to her as the memories of Arya’s biological mother still haunt the 18 year old.

 

Imagine the emotional turmoil and Sridevi delivers yet another masterclass, even though she portrays a vulnerable visibly weak individual she looks you straight in the eyes and makes you realize what a truly gifted performer she is.

There’s one scene where Sridevi walks in and  lays her eyes on her daughter in the hospital bed, that 10 second scene where she just breaks down should be studied and there should be a lecture in acting schools on how to portray someone who is terribly shocked and deeply distressed it is like the physical manifestation of love weeping uncontrollably. The supporting cast including Abhimanyu singh, Sajal Ali and Adnan Siddiqui is solid. Akshaye Khanna proves yet again that he is a very fine actor, we’d like to see much more from him but Nawazuddin Siddiqui – as unbelievable as it is has surprised me yet again, he is so calm yet so loud, so low-key yet so sharp.

While working on the Oscar nominated film Full metal Jacket my favourite director of all time Stanley Kubrick told one of his lead stars ‘Real is one thing, but interesting is better’ and almost of Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s performances remind me of that line. Every one of his characters is so real, so believable but adds his own little touch and makes every character interesting, the mark of a top grade actor.

Special mention for A R Rahman’s music, the background score is like an additional principal character in the film, keeps you at the edge of your seat. 

The makers risked some disturbing sequences including some very light dose of gore which you get in abundance in epic Japanese and South Korean films but the director was gritty enough to include such scenes and themes in an Indian film.