Sridevi's Mom faces budget hike prior to release, goes from gritty drama to glossy, large-scale film

Sridevi’s upcoming film Mom has been a talk-of-the-town ever since the film teaser was launched. It is her first Hindi film after the 2012 super hit English Vinglish , which won rave reviews both for the story and the performances. [caption id=“attachment_3361772” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Mom - Teaser look.[/caption] Boney Kapoor, Sridevi’s husband and producer of Mom, has gone all out to ensure the film hits all the right notes. Kapoor, known for his opulent mega-budget films, has amped up the budget of Mom, potentially making it Sridevi’s most expensive film in recent times. Deccan Chronicle quotes a source, saying, “Originally, Mom was planned as a raw, real, and gritty drama of a mother’s retaliation to her daughter’s rape. But as the shooting progressed, Boney decided to pull all stops to give the film a look of optimum gloss. Parts of the film were shot in Georgia, even though the script demanded no such destination shooting.” As reported by DNA, the film also faced trouble for featuring two Pakistani artistes, Sajal Ali and Adnan Siddiqui, who essay the roles of Sridevi’s daughter and husband in Mom, given Pakistani artistes were banned from working in Indian films from September last year after the Uri attacks. Speaking to DNA, the director of the film, Ravi Udyawar, says, “For the remaining portions, we had to recreate Delhi in Bangkok.” On being asked whether this impromptu international schedule made the film’s budget to shoot up, Udyawar responded, “Obviously it did. The entire crew travels along.” Udyawar further added that the film was almost complete when the Uri attacks happened last year. Mom also stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Akshaye Khanna in crucial roles and have delivered fabulous performances. The film is slated to release on 7 July 2017.