Film holds attention, but largely predictable
MOM Direction: Ravi Udyawar Actors: Sridevi, Nawazudin Siddiqui, Akshaye Khanna Rating: HHH
Ablack races down a deserted Delhi road. It’s night. At a crossroads, two doors open and a teenage girl is thrown out into the street.
Mom is about a mother who decides to avenge the rape of her daughter after they are denied justice.
A likeable-yet-strict biology teacher, Devaki (Sridevi) is your average parent struggling to keep up with her teen’s social life. To complicate matters, she is Arya’s stepmother, and Arya (Sajal Ali) doesn’t seem to trust her. When the child is raped, it threatens to tear the family apart, and Devaki fights to keep that from happening.
This may sound very like the recently released Maatr, but where Maatr hinged on Raveena Tandon, Mom has in its armoury the highly talented Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Akshaye Khanna and Adnan Siddiqui. And director Ravi Udyawar knows how to use them. Siddiqui, in the role of private detective Dayashankar Kapoor aka DK, is the real highlight of the film.
He fleshes out his character as only he can; he knows exactly how to play charming and vulnerable. Overlook Akshaye Khanna’s twitching eyebrows for a few seconds and you will see that he too shines. It’s a pity that his turn as the crime branch cop with the acerbic wit gets so little screen time. Sridevi is strong, particularly in the emotional scenes.
All looks to be headed in the right direction, and then the plot begins to falter.
The villains feel like clichés. The gut-wrenching agony is toned down to suit all palates. There are random, rambling verbal duals between the mother and the detective.
All subtlety is lost as the screenplay badgers each point home and still fails to achieve what Nawazuddin Siddiqui does with a single glance.
You know all is lost when Sridevi decides to take it upon herself to deliver justice.
The film holds your attention for its 148 minutes, but it’s largely predictable, so it’s really the actors that deserve the credit. For better Sridevi, watch English Vinglish again. Watch this one for Nawazuddin.