AR Rahman has done some special stuff for my film

It was in 2014 that it all started for Ravi Udyawar, the director of Mom. He had written a script with his writer friend, and it was at that time that he heard that Sridevi was looking for a script. And since this was a mother’s role, he thought he should approach her. “She loved it because after English Vinglish, she was keen on picking the right script. When she heard this script, she knew it would be a challenging role for her. As an actor, everyone wants to explore different aspects,” says Ravi, an ad filmmaker with an experience of 18 years in the advertising industry.

He says that making ads and films are two different things altogether. “In ad films, you set every frame flawlessly and you need to tell your story in seconds. This aspect of being precise in what you want to say is what I have learnt from advertising. Films are all about characters and the narrative and emotional beats are important. What I have done is apply the craft that I have learnt while making ads to tell my story,” he explains.

Mom is his debut film, and he has got three noted performers as his cast. Apart from Sridevi, there is Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who plays the antagonist, and Akshaye Khanna. “I’m really privileged that I’m working with these three amazing acting talents. All three of them come from different schools of acting. And it was amazing to understand their different approaches towards acting and guide them towards realising the characters in the script,” says Ravi.

Elaborating on how they approach their roles, he says, “Akshaye is very passionate and he asks many questions — not just about his character but he wants to understand the perspectives of every character. Nawaz is more of an impromptu performer. Once he understands what is needed and sees the dialogues, he takes over and become the character. In my film, the way he looks, the way he talks, the way he walks… are all different. These nuances are what he adds to the character, making it memorable. As for Sridevi ma’am, she would walk in and seeing her performance, I would even remove many of the dialogues since her expressions would convey what has to be said.”

The film deals with relationships between various characters and their conflicts, and Ravi says that he wanted an emotionally driven background score. “Rahman has done some special stuff for my film. There is one song for which he has done a Tappa. Not many sing this style of music anymore. He brought a boy from the Jaipur Gharana, whose grandfather used to sing in this genre, and recorded it with him. Now, it is part of the film’s background score. He also called in an artiste from Palestine, Sana Moussa, and she has sung a really special song. She has also sung it in Tamil,” he reveals.