Rating: 4.25 of 5
Recommendation: Worth a watch
‘Mom’ excels and shines standing on the shoulders of some seasoned actors, their powerful performances, well-composed dialogues and on the outstanding editing and camera-work. It is indeed the first outstanding Bollywood movie after the advent of the times of GST.
A teacher’s (Sridevi) largely peaceful life with her kids and husband, takes a turn-around when her step-daughter – who addressed her ‘Ma’am’ (she is her teacher at school) instead of ‘Mom’ – in her mid-teens, is gang-raped. Justice is denied but now there is no chance of reconciliation in the strained relationship. The girl believes that one of the perpetrators had a prior provocation from the teacher that led to the gang-rape.
The times of protracted court-room arguments or scuffle have gone. Mom has a different take on the same events that have flashed our theater screen from times immemorial. Now the judges are shown expressing sympathy with victim but still, abiding by the evidence presented, set the perpetrators free.
There is no cry of ‘Taareek-pe-Taareek’ anymore. It’s a fast-track court and the verdict is out much sooner than one would expect. Within no time, the movie moves to its main thread, that of extracting a revenge from the culprits.
The ‘justice-denied’ lot, with a deservingly sympathy factor working in favor of them, have taken the mantle in their hands. Even cops don’t appear to be corrupt anymore. In fact, they are devastated and helpless about their inability to turn the court’s verdict in favor of the victim.
The treatment of the age-old subject is new. How much is your appetite to chew would depend on what all you can comprehend. At certain places the story becomes abrupt and unbelievable. Possibly, you didn’t connect the dots. May be, they were too subtle.
Prod a little, there is an implicit reason and explanation for each act. For the non-believers of Sridevi’s acumen, you must remember that a home-maker cum biology teacher – she has also helped the poor find a meaningful life – has meticulously plotted each scene of her drama. For execution, she has dependable people around her.
There are loopholes, for sure. How does a hardcore criminal, after committing a crime in rage, has the mind and the patience to remove all evidence from a crime-scene?
Rahman’s music and songs are loud. Songs screaming high on pain and suffering – already abundantly present in the story-line – than harmony or rhythm tends to become clamorous. Background score manages to do some balancing act.
Contrastingly, Mom’s beauty is the aura it radiates that effectively debars you from paying undue attention to these fallacies.
It’s selling point is in its plot and performances.
As the credits roll, Nawazuddin Siddiqui is declared to be in a ‘Special Appearance’. Most of his scenes are crisp conversations with Sridevi, and trust me, there is only one person in that scene: Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Sridevi is absolutely upstaged by his unique make-up and peculiar dialogue delivery. The more he goes off the screen, the more you wait to see him. For all Nawazuddin’s fans, this is not-to-be-missed movie!
Sajal Ali (as Arya, the victim) portrays a wide-range of emotions to perfection. She is brutally rude to her mother and stands out as the despicable one thus, subtly shifting all sympathies towards Sridevi. When it comes to the boys in her class, she quickly switches over to the role of an infatuated young lass. Her post-trauma syndrome symptoms are conspicuous and remain well within the boundaries of credibility.
Sridevi (as Devki/Mom) is forever awaiting acceptance as ‘Mom’ from her stepdaughter. Let alone acknowledgement, none of her compassionate gestures are even received by the young-teenager (also her reluctant student at school). She looks hesitant, stretched, exhausted yet hopeful. She commands your attention on herself and develops a natural sympathetic connection with you. She excels in her non-verbal agony but her sobbing and explicit expressions of pain appear exaggerated.
Adnan Siddiqui (as Anand), a well-meaning family man, is pained to see his second-wife and his daughter not get along with each other. He superbly fits-in to the pained family. He excels in depicting his composure and at the same time being angry with whatever transpires.
Akshaye Khanna’s role (as cop) is a comic one. I am not even sure if I should spend time writing about him. All through the movie you are hoping that he contributes something meaningful to the story line. Starting out with a subtle introduction of an ace-cop with a heart, eventually, and quite hilariously, Khanna’s role is an extension of ‘China Town’ (one of his earlier flicks): He is always there but hardly bothers, soothes, affects or impacts anyone.
Abhimanyu Singh and the other three perpetrators invoke loathsome feelings in you. There is little scope for them to falter and they don’t disappoint.
A gripping plot, fast-moving story-line, excellently edited scenes and outstanding performances make the movie worth a watch. Mom promises handsome returns on your money and the GST!
I go for a 4.25 out of 5.
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