‘Sridevi was like a mother to me’: Sajal Aly reminisces about Bollywood star

Sajal Aly has only praise for Bollywood superstar the late legendary Bollywood actress Sridevi, her costar in the Indian film ‘Mom’.

Aly talked about her relationship with the superstar on BBC Asian Network show and her experience of working with her on the film. “First of all the experience was unbelievable for me that I’m sitting right in front of her, acting and giving dialogues, all that. And it’s just like looking at her you would forget everything. But I think the mark of a good actor is that they also need to be a good person. We are sometimes intimidated by actors in front of us, and also realize that this person is scared while standing next to us. But if you know, then the first thing a good person and a good actor would do is make the other person comfortable. She was that kind of actor. She had a lot of empathy and kindness towards me. For instance, I had that one scene where I was wearing this red dress and when I got ready she was like ‘Oh! You should curl your hair more!’ She was acting like a mother to me, although she was just a co-star. But the fact that she cared about how I’m looking and how I could look better, that is something that stole my heart.”

The host Haroon Rashid reminded her of what Aly said once about not being able to open up to people easily, but finds it easier to act in front of the camera. He recalled his interview with Sridevi at her home in Mumbai, and told Aly that the ‘Chandni’ actor had said “the exact same thing, ‘I don’t know how but when I’m in front of the camera,and the camera is my friend and I open up.'”

Aly said she felt the same way because the camera acts as a mirror in front of which you can be any character, and everything else just blurs.

Rashid, also recounted asking Sridevi about ‘Mom’ after the interview, which had not being released at that point. To which the late actress had only said ‘It is Sajal you need to look out for.’

Aly had expressed feeling extremely flattered and scared because she feels the pressure of proving she is a better actor

“I didn’t know she said that about me, but of course in some interviews she praised my acting a lot. These kind of compliments, I get scared because I feel the pressure. I never talk about her a lot and the relationship we had, it’s something I can’t explain. Because it was really real. Because when we think of showbiz, its a glamorous and refined. But to find a genuine connection within this place is incredibly hard. But for me its been very easy. It’s the only reason why I say that I’ve been very lucky.”

Aly also opened up about her friendship with Sri Devi’s daughter, Jhanvi Kapoor, and how the two developed a closer bond after both of their mothers passed away.
“We met after six years[in Dubai], when my mother had passed away as well as hers. Probably because of our mothers as well we got a lot more closer. So I connect with her and she connects with me. We used to keep in touch but then she started her career and she’s busy with that.”

Aly also addressed being cast the main lead for the upcoming adaptation of ‘Umrao Jaan’, revealing that she was already learning kathak lessons.

The ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’ actor said that this project was handed to her as a surprise:

‘My agents Hammad and Yaqoub came to my house as a surprise and said ‘You know how once we were talking about the project ‘Umrao Jaan?’ I said okay, hmm. Then they said ‘You’re doing it! We’re not asking you if you’ll do it, we’re telling you!’

You can watch the complete interview here:

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