‘As mothers, we need to be friends with our kids’

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The queen of Bollywood is back with a bang. Putting to rest all doubts and cocking a snook at naysayers, Sridevi has shown her class once again with English Vinglish. During a chat with us, the comeback queen says that she’s still taking it all in.

“Yeah! I am still dazed with the success of English Vinglish. I must confess that I had kept on wondering whether Shashi’s character would be liked by the audiences.” Then the film hit the theatres and the rest is history.
“Shashi’s character just fell in my lap and I enjoyed performing it. Also all moms can identify with my character. Hearing fabulous comments from my fans makes me feel great though without them I would be nothing. I remember when the screening got over in London, one of my daughter’s friends immediately called up her mom and said ‘Mom I am sorry for being rude to you on so many occasions’. Making one realise the importance of respecting one’s family is what has been depicted in the film.”
“The film succeeded because of its simplicity and sensitive subject. There was nothing that was melodramatic. The tale was heart rending and appealed to every generation. Nothing was overboard.”
She was also all praise for her French co-star, “He is a brilliant actor. Their working pattern is totally different. I remember that the train sequence in which he came up to me and said ‘sorry…’ he just ran a bit while boarding the train to get the right feel for it.”
Sri says, “My little daughter was the first one who said ‘Mom you have lovely eyes and they speak so much…’ I was shocked to hear this from her. She also said ‘mom I did not like the way your daughter in the film treated you… why did she do that with you?’ My kids are very obedient. But I have to give in sometimes to their tantrums also. As a mother I have to value their feelings. They too undergo stress and strain of studying. My mom had inculcated all these ethical values in me and so I have tried to nurture them in the same manner. Jhanvi, my elder daughter is very close to me. I think as mothers we need to be friends with our kids.”
About item numbers, she says, “Changes occur in every sphere of life. Now a days bold scripts are being accepted by audiences and it is the need of the day to incorporate item numbers in films. I see it as a positive change. Also, earlier we would long to go for outdoor shoots but today scenes can be canned normally here itself.”
After English Vinglish, she is once again a celebrity among the youth and kids. Will this restrict her from shopping for her favourite food?
She smiles and adds, “Yes, now I am not going to the market to fetch fish or any other vegetables like I used to do earlier. The fish monger now comes to my doorstep.”
About her future projects, Sridevi says before signing off, “I am getting quite a few offers but it is too early to disclose anything. I am keen on doing films which will suit me. Luckily woman-centric roles fall in my lap and I am happy about everything.”