Sridevi and I shared a very mother-daughter kind of relationship – Sajal Aly

Sajal Aly has had a fair share of success in the last year, with two LSA-nominated plays like O Rungreza and Yaqeen Ka Safar to her name. However, none have made her as big a star globally than her Bollywood debut alongside Sridevi in Mom, which garnered major attention due to her performance as well as her bond with the late Bollywood actress.

“We [Sridevi and I] shared a very mother-daughter kind of relationship,” Sajal said in an interview with Gulf Times. “In the first two spells of the shoot, my mother was there with me and they developed a very good bond, so we spent a lot of time together — like a family. In the last spell of the film since I was alone at the shoot and my mother was in the hospital, that was when I got attached to her [Sridevi].”

Sridevi, who passed away last month due to an accidental drowning in the UAE, was known to be a recluse on the sets. However, with Sajal, she remained extremely close.

“For me, she’s no doubt a legend but even in my first scene, I never felt like I was sitting in front of Sridevi; I felt I was sitting in front of a mother,” Sajal continued. “She made me feel that way. It’s a very big thing. Lots of newcomers come and shoot with you and sometimes they even get intimidated or nervous, but during the entire shoot of the film, I never felt uncomfortable sharing the screen with her.”

Speaking with the Middle-Eastern newspaper about the ongoing ban on Pakistani artistes in India making waves once again, Sajal feels hopeful about the Pakistani media industry growing in the backdrop of the whole situation.

“Since artistes are prominent both in Pakistan and India they’re a soft target, which is wrong,” the actress said. “I am glad that I got a chance to work in Bollywood and might as well go again, but I am also concerned about contributing to a positive growth in Pakistani cinema. I believe the hard work that we put in the projects abroad can just be put in at home, where we are given the respect we deserve. Therefore, the ban shouldn’t be taken as a setback anyway.”

Sajal is currently working on her upcoming play, Aangan alongside Ahad Raza Mir, Ahsan Khan, Mawra Hocane, and Sonya Hussyn. She is also appearing in on-going drama serial, Noorulain, alongside Imran Abbas.