'He Was A Sarvashresth Brahmin. I'm In Awe Of People Like That

'What would Ravana do in today's time?'

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Kajol doesn't watch horror films but she's all set to star in one, in this week's release, Maa.

As the title suggests, the actor plays a mother who does everything in her power to save her daughter in this supernatural film. She tells Patcy N/Rediff, “It's not a typical horror film because besides fear and great background music, it also has emotion. That is its strength.”

You played a mother in Salaam Venky, and you played one in Maatoo. How are the two different?

Every woman has an identity, whether she has children or not. Salaam Venky had a different mission in life. In this film, we are fighting against a unique evil. In Salaam Venky, we were fighting a demon, which was a disease spreading through the body (Kajol’s screen son suffered from a medical condition, which resulted in an early death). In this film, there is an actual demon.

But the fundamental fear that every mother has is that nothing should ever happen to her child. The biggest battle is whether she can protect the child or not. The tagline of this film is ‘Evil versus Faith’. The faith a mother has in herself and in Maa (goddess) is very important.

Do you think in our country, especially with our traditions and culture, mothers are glorified so much that they are not seen as normal humans and that they cannot make mistakes?

There is a very thin line between right and wrong. Life is not black and white but a big grey area. It's always up to the perspective, how you show a character, how the director views each role. This film shows many different forms of motherhood. I feel the mother is judged a little less now.

Do you believe in black magic?