MOM brings out the best of Sridevi's acting

But the raw tale of a mother's revenge lacks a mature script

A moment from the film’s trailer tells you everything you need to know about Sridevi-starrer MOM (2017). “God cannot be everywhere, Mr DK,” says the protagonist, played by actor Sridevi. To this, Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s character responds, “I know, that is why God made mothers.” 

The scene appears just before the intermission, dividing the story into two parts: the first about a mother’s love and distress, the second about her revenge. It tries to be both a quiet drama and a rousing thriller, achieving moderate success in both endeavours.

Devaki (Sridevi) is struggling to get the approval of her teenage daughter Arya (Sajal Ali), while the father (Adnan Siddiqui), provider of expensive gifts, has no such problems. It doesn’t help that Devaki is also Arya’s biology teacher in her Delhi-based school — she mockingly calls her ‘Ma’am’ even at home.

But things take an extreme turn when Arya is kidnapped from a party with friends and subject to murderous sexual abuse. A family that might have healed collapses further. To reveal too much of the plot would ruin the film. When the police, including investigator Matthew Francis (Akshaye Khanna), and courts fail to mete out punishment, Devaki partners hesitantly with DK (Siddiqui), a shifty-looking private detective. In all of this, curiously, no one seems worried about getting Arya some help for her trauma.

This is Ravi Udyawar’s first feature film. His previous experience is in directing music videos, famously for Pakistani band Strings, and in advertising, where he is known for the 1990s campaign “Balbir Pasha ko AIDS hoga kya?”. His scenes of dysfunctional families and dinner-time squabbles, although well-acted, seem superficial and would belong more in an ad film.

Udyawar does fare better in bringing out the varied moods of a mother —  selfless, anxious, pained, angry. The film also points at how crimes against women are committed and treated. To its credit, it does so with subtle, cinematic flair. Miles of secluded roads are marked by silence, while a sound-proof vehicle with tinted windows passes by them, allowing the four men inside privacy for their crimes. Later, the cops are depicted not entirely heartless, as is common in Hindi cinema, just hardened by habit. 

There is, however, an inconsistency of pace. The film bolts through some portions — mainly the police inquiry and courtroom scenes — and slows down to a boring crawl in parts where the family is at home.

MOM is not afraid to go to dark places, the visuals are often perturbing. It might have been even better if it had abandoned some scruples and gone fully rogue. By the time her revenge unfolds, one is fairly invested in the protagonist’s anger. Devaki’s transformation from high-school teacher to clinical revenge-plotter could have been Breaking Bad-esque but given a runtime of less than two and a half hours, it is not as convincing. The film sticks to the core theme of Devaki’s search for validation as a mother, before stumbling to an implausible end.

Sridevi may grapple with speaking the Hindi language but is firmly in charge of the nuances of acting. Mostly staid and graceful in her grey-white-black wardrobe, she is equally impactful when doubled over and crying in grief. Her breakdowns are piercing but also unnervingly natural. She makes the film worthwhile. Siddiqui’s character, while caricaturish, is enjoyable. Khanna, in a less important role, offers the important realisation that he deserves more work.

In the eyes of daughters, mothers can sometimes be the less popular parent, usually the first to voice anxieties or curtail freedoms. Sridevi’s Devaki, clueless about organic means to win her daughter’s affection, goes seeking violent retribution on her behalf. In a way, what Bad Moms said with humour last year, MOM seems to say with drama — moms may not always be perfect but they deserve a break.