Mom movie review: Sridevi?s performance has critics cheering for her

TOI in their 4-star review called Sridevi ‘High Priestess’: “In her 300th landmark movie (coincidentally produced by her husband Boney Kapoor) Sri demonstrates why she is the high-priestess of desi cinema. Here she turns in a captivating performance; happiness, helplessness, vendetta and victory, she walks you through the entire gamut of emotions with panache. Supporting her ably is her onscreen husband Anand (Adnan), who plays the polished gent with flair. Nawazuddin, with his quirks and one-liners, turns in a class act and Akshaye Khanna, who is in terrific form here, forces you to ponder why he takes such long matinee breaks.”

Mid-Day gave it 3stars and said that the actress makes the film special: “From an audience’s perspective, what will make this most special still is Sridevi. This is her 300th film, I’m presuming, as the protagonist! Despite a phenomenally prolific career — especially when stars have become so publicly accessible — it’s astounding how she’s managed to maintain an irresistible mystique around herself.It’s a big deal to see her on screen, let alone that there are hardly any worthwhile scripts with a woman at 53 in the lead. If there was one, it would be written for Sridevi — undoubtedly the female Amitabh Bachchan of her times. And she gives it her all. Speaking of which, Bachchan’s done ‘Paa’, it’s only fair that ‘Mom’ is Sri’s movie.

Mumbai Mirrorwent for 3.5 stars have credited her for evolving with time: “In the eponymous role, Sridevi conveys distraught and determination like few others. The actor who clocks 300 with this film, ruled over Hindi cinema at a time when nothing was left to the imagination and subtlety wasn’t a virtue worth upholding. But keeping up with the times, she has embraced the realistic approach to her craft and effectively manages to convey her character’s state of mind through the film. If anyone but Nawazuddin Siddiqui was cast to play DK, it would come across as an imitation of a funny voice. But Nawaz takes that funny voice and makes it his own and it seems to belong. Pakistani actor Sajal Ali, whose character endures physical abuse, is effective in communicating the psychological residue of the traumatic act through her performance. Akshaye Khanna as the intuitive crime branch inspector Mathew Francis sticks to his lopsided expressions and is unobjectionable.”

So you have a lot of reasons to watch this film this weekend.