To Mother,with Love

The two-hour-long film which releases in India in July,is based on a group of Mumbai’s street children who adopt an abandoned two-day-old baby and set out on in a mission to find her mother. “It is for all those mothers who did not abandon their babies and raised them despite all pressures. My mother is one of them,” says the 36-year-old director.

Kamal’s father was a choreographer who made the likes of Amitabh Bachchan dance to his tune in Amar Akbar Anthony and Coolie and gave Mithun Chakraborty his gyrating moves in Disco Dancer. Kamal himself dabbled with small roles before co-producing his first English feature Lady Godiva Back in the Saddle,a comical adaptation of the story of Lady Godiva (yet to be released in India) in 2006,under his own production house,Quantum Films.

He stumbled on the subject of Thanks Maa during daily commutes from his home in Andheri to his production house in Juhu. “The streets were dotted with kids begging. I asked myself what would happen if a bunch of these kids found an abandoned baby and went out in search of its mother,” he says.

Kamal auditioned 300 street children for the role. The protagonists are five street kids with quirky names like Municipality,Cutting,Sursuri and Soda. Ranveer Shorey,Barry John and Alok Nath also play active roles. The film was shot in congested locations in Mumbai in a span of six months. “I wrapped up the final scenes in March 2008,” says Kamal.

The film is an entertainer,though without any song and dance routines,sailing through on its situational humour and street lingo that includes a generous sprinkling of swear words. “It is A-certified but I am glad that the censor board allowed the expletives as these are the essence of my film,” adds Kamal,who has been offered a few acting roles,but plans to stick to directing for now. “I want to provemyself as a director first,” he says.