Actor Kajol is gearing up for the release of her upcoming film Salaam Venky. It marks her return to the big screen nearly three years after Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior (2020). Salaam Venky directed by actor-filmmaker Revathy is based on a true story and explores the relationship between a mother and a son, a Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy survivor, and celebrates human spirit.
Earlier, Kajol had revealed she was reluctant in being a part of the emotional drama as it ‘is every parent’s worst nightmare’. In an exclusive interaction with News18, she talks about how she eventually convinced herself in doing the film. “It was a fabulous script but the topic was a bit heavy and so, I thought that it would perhaps make me face a personal fear. But I also knew that I would regret it if I didn’t do the film. I knew that Revathy ma’am would turn the script into such a fine film. I’m really, really happy that I did it,” she says.
Kajol shares that she had always wanted to be directed by Revathy, especially after watching her Hindi directorial debut Phir Milenge (2004) which starred Salman Khan, Shilpa Shetty Kundra and Abhishek Bachchan, and revolved around AIDS and the taboo surrounding it.
Talking about it, the 48-year-old says, “I had seen Revathy’s ma’am’s earlier film Phir Milenge. I remember watching it and thinking to myself, ‘What a sensitively handled film!’ It was such a well-balanced film and it sparked off a different conversation altogether. I kept wondering at that time about how wonderful it would be to get a chance to work with her because she’s just awesome.”
Appreciating Revathy for Salaam Venky, Kajol remarks, “She more than lived up to my expectations. If there’s a star in the film, I would say that it’s the director.”
While the Tribhanga (2021) actor was scared about giving a nod to the film, she now believes that working on Salaam Venky and playing her character has made her fearless as a mother. She elaborates, “I think the one thing Salaam Venky as a film taught me was to fear less. I didn’t want to do the film because I was scared [the film revolves around the fear of a mother losing her child]. I would tell myself, ‘Aisa sochna bhi mat.’ But going to work and facing that fear every day made me stop getting scared of it.”
Kajol feels it helped her develop an easier equation with her children, Nysa and Yug. “Your kids also start feeling it when you don’t get so scared about them anymore. They also end up not having that fear about you in their hearts. You feel a sense of openness with them and they feel it too,” she states.
Quiz her about how they reacted after watching her performance in Salaam Venky and Kajol says, “My daughter has categorically told me that she isn’t sure if she wants to watch the film. But I’ll emotionally blackmail my son and take him to watch it (laughs).”
The actor, who will soon be making her web series debut with the Hindi adaptation of The Good Wife, further adds, “I know that I’ll manage to take him to the theatre. But my daughter is studying abroad, so I can’t pull her by the ear and take her to watch the film. This is how I’ve to behave with my children to make them watch my films. What to do? I’m making Salaam Venky, not Golmaal.”
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