She’s a woman of few words. But, she doesn’t need them. She walks into a room and owns it. Sridevi has a royal aura about her. The actress carries herself with dignity and style. She has been missing from the big screen for the last five years — since English Vinglish. Now, she returns with Mom. Ask her about the long gap, and she jokes about her long maternity break, “Pehle 15 saal ka gap tha. Abhi paach saal ka. So I’m improving.” And, we start laughing.
Over the next 30 minutes, Sridevi opens up about playing a mother — in real and reel life, and why she is drawn to ‘mom’ characters now. Read on for excerpts...
It’s not about the offers. I don’t want to do a film just for the sake of doing it. My first priority is always my children. So, when I did English Vinglish, the schedule was according to my convenience. R Balki (producer of English Vinglish) is a dear friend, so he worked out the schedule in a way that my children could be with me. Bachchon ki holidays chal rahi thi, so we shot in those two months. After that, some offers came but I didn’t end up taking them because of several reasons like being on outdoors and being away from the kids, and sometimes, you are just not happy with the script. I am not keen on taking up these films. It’s not necessary that I have to keep myself busy. I should love the subject, it should touch my heart, I should feel for my character and the other characters around me — then I will do it for sure. All of this matters. But the main thing is it has to be done according to my convenience.
I always go with my instincts. More than anything, the character has to suit me. I can’t do stuff that I did 10 or 20 years ago. I won’t be comfortable doing it anymore. I want my children to feel proud of what I’m doing. So, yes, obviously, I will pick films that have great stories and which don’t require me to be who I was years ago. It won’t seem or look logical anymore.
(Cuts in) Yes, that used to happen so much. Koi producer problem mein hai toh we used to do his film to help him out. I, too, have done so many films like that. There would be no bound scripts, contracts toh chhod hi do.
I love that. It’s become more professional, there’s a time frame now. The environment is good. Plus, every department is handled by different people. It’s systematic, so that’s really good.
Has to be the plot. And the relationship between the mother and daughter, it touched me. And, like I said, I always go by my instincts. I thought Mom would be the right film for me, right now.
Yes, absolutely. Because I am a mother, I know exactly what the character is going through. I can relate to that. I could feel for the character in Mom. She is a strong mother, devoted to her children and she goes to any extent for her children’s sake. These are the qualities you like and you would love to show on screen as well.
(Interrupts) It’s not revenge. I would call it giving punishment.
There are many things that scare me. There’s an insecurity about my children, when they go out, till they are back I am worried. I call them several times to just find out ki kya ho raha, gaadi kahi ruk gayi hai ya nahi. These are all the basic things that any other mother keeps worrying about when it comes to her children.
No, I am not at all possessive. But, I am extremely protective.
Yes, rules are same for both Janvi and Khushi. They know they have a curfew time and they have to be back home. Else, I will keep calling and inquiring.
They react by bargaining. They will be like, ‘Mama, half-an-hour more? Mama, 20 minutes more, please? But they are very obedient children. Touchwood. Both Janvi and Khushi are very understanding, and they know their limits really well. So they don’t trouble me much (smiles).
If I was even close to what my mother was to me, they will pack my bags and tell me, ‘You go and live in Chennai’. (Laughs) I cannot expect my children to be how I was with my mother. Times have changed and I have changed with it. Both Janvi and Khushi understand where I’m coming from. I am also not a hi-tech modern mom — for whom everything is fine and cool.
Of course, there are lots of them. And they know where to draw a line. Sometimes, they don’t even come and ask. I only tell them sometimes, ‘There’s a get together’. They will be like, ‘No Mama, it’s too late. I don’t think I will be comfortable.’ Both of them are extremely health conscious and I don’t have to control them. It’s not like everything’s going haywire, it has never reached that level. Sometimes, one late night and the next day they start cribbing saying ‘we can’t handle it’. So it’s good that they know the value of being healthy so I don’t have to push them too much.
I don’t cook. I go to the kitchen, I supervise and plan menus for my kids. But cooking toh bohut dur ki baat hai. Janvi is very fond of cooking. She is fond of baking cakes, custards, cookies and all. That I enjoy eating! (Laughs) Instead of me cooking and giving them, they do it for me and I eat. (Smiles)
Janvi is more like me. She’s very sensitive, naive, obedient... I see so much of myself in her. Khushi is independent, strong and has her own mind.
Aisa kuch nahi hai.
(i) I absolutely agree with what Saif said. In the beginning, I didn’t want Janvi to become an actress. As a parent, one is naturally protective of their children and you are literally exposing them to the world. Itne saal aapne usko protect kiya and you want them to just happily settle. Bas stress-free ho jao but that doesn’t happen. Today, children too have their own minds and beginning mein, I ignored it and tried to caution her saying that this is a tough job. There’s so much sacrifice, so much to give — no pain, no gain. But it seems she’s ready for it. As parents, we will support her.
No, never. Janvi has not seen my films. I have never made my kids sit and watch my movies. I think they haven’t seen most of them, except for Mr India and a few others. The first time Janvi confessed that she wanted to become an actress was when someone asked her what she wanted to do in life. She said, ‘I will become a doctor. But not in real life. In a movie, I will play a doctor.’ It was so funny and I was like, ‘Hello, what are you saying?’ (Laughs) Maybe, at the back of her mind, she had decided, but she was too shy to express it to us. Slowly, slowly bomb phoda!
I didn’t get angry. (Laughs) But I went up to Boneyji and said this is what she wants. So dono sar pe haath rakh ke baith gaye ki yeh kya ho gaya. (Laughs) Slowly, we psyched ourselves and came to terms with it.
Yes, a lot of it now. She can speak Urdu also very well. But of course, she speaks Hindi also very well now.
Yes, we do that. Both the kids share everything with me. Even I do the same thing. We are more or less like friends only. So, whatever is going on in their lives, I am one of the first to know about it.
We can’t run away from that. She has to face the pressure. When she has decided to enter Bollywood, she has to go through all this. She’s prepared for all that, and I am also preparing myself for it. Sometimes, it scares me. So many thoughts come and you feel why is she doing this? But then, if you feel that is her aim and happiness, as a mother, I will support her like my mom supported me. We weren’t from a film background but it happened and she stood by me, fought for me and made sure I am happy. That’s how I would also like to be with Janvi.
No, I never thought about Janvi and Khushi at all. Bhagwan kare ki aisa never happens with anybody. The characters in Mom go through hell and I don’t wish that for anyone. I was so involved and in character that I was thinking what that mother would have gone through. Many times, I had tears naturally. I don’t remember using glycerine.