Ajay Devgn on choosing Kajol for Maa: ‘Any husband would cast his wife in a horror role’

Maa revolves around Kajol’s character who involves a supernatural power to protect her daughter from evil forces in a haunted haveli. “The character of the mother was so strong, who else could we imagine in the role but her,” said Ajay Devgn.

Kajol claimed that Maa is Hindi cinema’s first mythological horror film. “So many horror films – horror comedies and other genres – are being made. But no one has attempted a mythological horror before. We have such a rich mythology over centuries. Hollywood has to create mythologies, but we’re not using what we already have,” reasoned Devgn.

Also Read | Kajol, Ajay Devgn react to ‘8-hour work shift’ demand for working moms amid Deepika Padukone-Sandeep Reddy Vanga row: ‘You should be able to…’

Kajol also confessed that the theme of motherhood in Maa echoed with her. “I spoke about this during Salaam Venky as well,” she said, referring to the mother of a terminally ill patient she played in Revathy’s 2022 directorial. “It’s any parent’s worst nightmare (to lose their child). I normally tend not to let my feelings affect my shot, but somewhere down the line, subconsciously, emotions come easier. Tears fall more easily. Because you feel so connected to it, and it’s so real,” the actor added.

Kherin Sharma plays Kajol’s daughter in Maa. When Ajay Devgn was asked if he didn’t think of casting their daughter Nysa Devgn in that role, he promptly said, “At the moment, she’s not interested in this kind of work.” Interestingly, their son Yug Devgan, who was also present at the trailer launch, has lent his voice, along with his father, to the dubbed Hindi version of Hollywood action film Karate Kid: Legends, releasing in Indian cinemas this Friday.

Since Maa comes from the world of Shaitaan, Vikas Bahl’s hit supernatural horror film of last year, Ajay Devgn pulled off a surprise at the start of the trailer launch event. R Madhavan, who played the evil Vanraj Kashyap in Shaitaan, popped up to introduce Kajol’s character. “I want to thank Maddy, my friend, who has flown all the way from Chennai. He was shooting there all night, as you can gauge from his voice,” said Devgn, who then hugged his Shaitaan co-star. “Whenever we’ve hugged on stage, it’s been very lucky,” quipped Madhavan. “Let’s keep hugging,” Devgn responded.

When asked if he is concerned about the comparison between Maa and Shaitaan, Devgn said, “One can’t compare both. The effort is always towards making a good film. The rest, fingers crossed, once you watch, you’ll decide whether it’s good or not.” He clarified he wasn’t tempted to make a cameo in Kajol’s film just because Shaitaan shares the world with Maa. “Every film has its own story and characters. The actors who suited the parts have been cast like Ronit (Roy) is there,” added Devgn.

Watch | Maa trailer: Kajol steps into the ‘world of Shaitaan’ to fight evil and save her daughter

Vishal Furia, who has directed Maa, also defended any comparison with the Chhorii franchise on Amazon Prime Video India, part 2 of which released earlier this year. “The only similarity is that both are stories of mothers. But we’re talking about Maa Kali in this film, who is a much bigger entity. This world is much, much bigger. It’s a cinematic experience. You can’t watch it on OTT. You’ll have to come and watch it in theatres,” he said.

Kajol lastly revealed it’s the quickest film that she’s done in her 30-year-plus long career. “Everything from conception to execution to release happened so fast! We really had Maa Kali’s blessings on this project,” she said, smiling.

Maa is slated to release in cinemas on June 27.