One for dear mother!: Divya Dutta and Gippy Grewal, during the promotion of Punjabi film Maa in Chandigarh, echo that a good film works regardless of its genre

Mona

If the casting is right the job is half done, believes actor, director and producer Gippy Grewal. And as his next offering, Maa, gets ready for release, the humble Gippy is happy that National Award-winning actress Divya Dutta came on board.

“When we make comedies, even if the story is not that strong, we can pull the movie on the shoulders of able actors. That was not a risk we could take around Maa, as this is such a mighty subject,” says Gippy, in city on Wednesday. A story by Rana Ranbir, it is spread over three decades and the makers were very conscious of how they portrayed a mother. “We wanted a complete film, not a mother that one could pity but someone with a strong presence,” says Gippy.

What made Divya say yes? She points at Gippy, “Very few people make films that are different, Maa is one such film and I am happy that Gippy could try something like that.” A timeline of 30 to 65 years—from a vulnerable soul to finding strength, Divya found in Manjit Kaur’s character a whole arc, which gave her a chance to perform better. Yes, there was doubt in her mind if it was too early to play a mother but she liked the script.

Different take

Gippy essays a character pretty different than his real self in Maa, “Oo bada aggressive type hai.” And Divya points out that he’s anything but aggressive in real life! “He is so chilled out on the sets that one forgets all the stress. And in that very happy, positive, atmosphere he gets the work he wants.” In Gippy, she found a fabulous co-actor and producer. “I believe each person on sets, right to the spot boy to all others, should be happy, only then can one make a good film.”

Not happy by the fact that only comedies work in Pollywood or that Gurpreet Ghuggi is just a comedian, Gippy wishes to set the record straight. “A good film works regardless of its genre. Nowadays South-Indian films are doing well; that’s why we are watching them sitting here in Punjab.”

As for Ghuggi, he says, “He is an actor. He’ll do a role that he gets. Ardaas is one such film that cements his might as a serious actor. Tomorrow if I want Divya ji to play a villain or do a comedy next, she is very capable as an actor to do that, provided that the character appeals to her.”

(Maa will be released in cinemas on May 6)

A strong bond

While one knows the beautiful bond that Divya Dutta shares with her mother, Gippy Grewal too opened up on his equation with his mother, “My mother is very polite. She scolds me but has never hit me, that’s not her nature… Mummy ko tang karke mujhe bahut acha lagta hai. I am always taking pangas with her and many a times my wife has to intervene for a compromise.”