Hindi
Mom…..Lacks thrill
If it is Delhi, the theme of rape is acceptable. Gangrape, rather. So, the location is a given. Sometimes, the police does its best but is let down by other arms of the law and fails. Looks like in Delhi, the seat of power, various parts of the law work to defeat each other’s purpose, not to complement it.
So, we have an old-fashioned tried-and-tested vigilante story like Charles Bronson’s Death Wish (1974). Death Wish was about a father, Bronson, taking the law into his own hands to avenge the rape and death of his daughter. The film went on to become a successful franchise with more instalments.
Mom is one such story with an Indian touch. Here, a woman, when failed by the law to deliver her justice, turns the avenger.
What takes the privilege away of being a rarity of the subject is the fact that not very long ago, a similar film, Maatr, starring Raveen Tandon, had hit the screens where she ventures out to avenge the rape of her daughter in the same Delhi. She also played a teacher in a school where her own daughter is a pupil.
Mom is about Sridevi in her 300th film since her debut on screen in her childhood. Without going much into what led to what, Sridevi’s character is married to the character of Adnan Siddiqui, a widower with an 18-year-old daughter, played by Sajal Ali, from his previous marriage. The couple have another daughter, much younger.
Sajal has not yet accepted Sridevi as her mom. She misses her biological mother, is always curt with Sridevi and calls her madam as she calls her during her school hours. Sridevi is a school teacher and Sajal also happens to be one of her pupils.
She may be too old to be in a school at 18 but the makers don’t care for such detailing. A boy in Sajal’s class has an evil eye on her. His sending dirty video clips to her backfires. Come a Valentine’s Day party at a farmhouse, the boy makes his move but is rebuffed.
The alternative is always a taken in Delhi, it looks like. Assault and rape follow on Sajal. Evil deed done, she is dumped into a nullah as dead. The culprits are identified, tried and acquitted. Sridevi and the family are devastated, frustrated and angry — all the emotions that a film can use in such a situation.
Sridevi takes it upon herself to settle the score with the four culprits. In the due course, she also engages a jasoos (detective) as he calls himself, played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui, a guy with X-Ray eyes so to say. Also lurking in the background is the character of Akshaye Khanna, a cop who has arrested all the culprits like a super cop but loses out to the judiciary as all the culprits go scot-free. He is left banging his hands on tables.
The rest of the film is about Sridevi’s revenge and getting her stepdaughter to accept her.
Mom is a badly scripted film with glitches all around and contradictions in the script. The director takes a Hollywoodian approach to treat the film but never gets a grip on the proceeds right from the beginning.
In the era of songs sans lip sync, a couple of good tunes also fail to make an impact.The background score is good. Dialogue is good at places, especially Nawazuddin’s which sound extempore rather than penned. Editing needed to be much sharper. Camera work is fairly good.
The film counts totally on Sridevi to carry it through and she does a reasonably good job. Nawazuddin, who has been given a special look for this film, becomes a caricature for no apparent reason. A detective should blend in the crowd not wanting to be spotted then what is the logic of giving Nawazuddin a getup with which he would stand out in a crowd of thousands?
Adnan Siddiqui is sincere but his role has nothing much to offer. Sajal is does well. Akshay Khanna also gets the short end of the bargain with nothing material to do.
Mom is a much hyped film with which it does not live up.
Producers: Boney Kapoor, Sunil Manchanda, Gautam Jain, Naresh Agarwal, Mukesh Talreja.
Director: Ravi Udyawar.
Cast: Sridevi, Akshaye Khanna, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Adnan Siddiqui, Sajal Ali.
Hindi
Kridhan Infra enters film production with AI-led feature film
Infra firm debuts AI-powered film marking RSS centenary
MUMBAI: Kridhan Infra Limited is swapping hard hats for headsets. The infrastructure company has announced its entry into film production and media technology through its subsidiary, Kridhan Mediatech Private Limited, with the nationwide theatrical release of Shatak: Sangh Ke 100 Varsh, an AI-led feature film.
With Shatak, the company is not just stepping into cinema but staking a claim in what it describes as one of the world’s early full-length AI-driven feature films. Artificial Intelligence has been embedded across the creative and production process, from script visualisation and environment creation to modelling and production design.
The film commemorates 100 years of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, tracing defining moments, personalities and historical phases that shaped its journey. By combining archival storytelling with algorithm-powered creativity, the project attempts to blend heritage with high technology.
For Kridhan Mediatech, this is only the opening scene. The subsidiary’s broader ambition spans AI, CGI, virtual production systems and scalable content models for both theatres and digital platforms. The move signals a strategic diversification for Kridhan Infra, traditionally rooted in engineering and construction.
The timing aligns with India’s growing push to become a global AI powerhouse. At the 2026 AI Impact Summit, prime minister Narendra Modi urged innovators to design in India and deliver to the world. Kridhan Mediatech’s initiative positions itself squarely within that narrative, aiming to export technology-enabled storytelling beyond domestic audiences.
India’s media and entertainment industry, valued at over Rs 2.5 lakh crore, alongside a rapidly expanding AI economy projected to cross Rs 1.4 lakh crore in the coming years, offers fertile ground at the intersection of cinema and code.
“With Shatak, we proudly present one of the world’s first AI-led full-length feature films while marking our strategic entry into film production and media technology through our subsidiary,” the company said in a statement. “Our vision is to combine India’s rich narrative heritage with forward-looking innovation. This is just the beginning of building globally competitive, technology-enabled cinematic experiences.”
From infrastructure to imagination, Kridhan’s latest venture suggests that in today’s India, even storytelling can be engineered.
