The evergreen and beautiful Shri Devi spoke with an open-heart after a long time of 15 years of staying away from the spotlight and after making a huge comeback with English Vinglish (2013) which turned out to be a massive hit.

Now that the actress is going to come back on the big screen with Mom, she was asked various questions about her career choices, her experience staying away from the spotlight for so long, her daughter`s debut in the industry and much more.

When asked about if she would change a thing about her career prior to being in the industry for almost 50 years now.

She says “Not at all! I wouldn't want to change anything about my career. I hadn't planned any of this; it fell into my lap and I am grateful to God for it. I just want it to remain like this. My mom and I never thought that I would make my way into Bollywood. I was happy doing films down South.When my first Hindi film Solva Sawan (the 1979 remake of a Tamil film) was being made, I thought... `Yeh picture toh South main hit ho gaya, so they are making it in a different language'.That's all.”

She continues “Then I came to know that the film didn't do well and I went back to doing other Southern language films. It was as simple as that. Before Himmatwala (1983) happened, the producers had taken my dates for another Telugu film, and all of a sudden, they said that they weren't doing that movie anymore, instead, they were doing a Hindi film with Jeetendra. My first reaction was that if my Hindi debut was a flop, why do they want me to do another film? They didn't bother to hear me out and went ahead with it.”

She remembers “ I kept thinking that these people are mad to be doing this I am glad that I did Himmatwala because after that, one film led to the other. Speaking about Mom, the moment I heard it, I was drawn to the subject. It touched my heart. I had a good feeling about it and I always go by my instinct.”

When asked about how she feels about working with newcomers who look at her as an inspiration to their careers and see her as a goddess in the industry, she responds quickly saying

“All these labels and praises scare me. I am very simple and I feel like a newcomer because I never stopped learning. I feel there is so much more to learn about the craft. In fact, this is just the beginning. Times have changed. In the earlier days, sometimes when we were on the set, we would ask the director, `Sir, dialogues de do'”

She continues

“The writer would be sitting somewhere on set and penning the dialogues. The team would tell us, `Garam garam aa raha hai scene', but now, we can't function like that. The bound script is already with you, and you are aware of the mood of the scene, your look, the clothes and everything else. But I guess that was the style back then; people still did a great job and it worked in that era. Today, films are made differently and there are so many heroine-oriented movies. Filmmakers are willing to take chances, and explore these subjects. It is the best time to be in the industry and there is so much more I want to learn as an actress. I never went through a phase in my career when I said, `This is enough; I don't want to do this anymore'. Acting has always been my passion.”

How does she feel about communicating with fans with the ever-changing technology induced social media?

Her response “It is an amazing change and for the better. Fans can communicate with their favorite actors; we can also know their reactions directly. Earlier, we did maximum two-three interviews and left the rest to a film's fate. Now, promotions have become so aggressive, but we have to change with the times. I always say this dialogue (borrowed from Dabangg), `Shooting se darr nahin lagta hai, promotion se lagta hai'. I had to cope with it, I had no choice.”

She says “I joined social media during English Vinglish (2012) because I was coming back on screen after 15 years and the team thought that I should be a more happening mom. Yes, earlier, there was a certain beauty in the exclusivity and privacy we had, but now, we are clicked everywhere and anywhere -at airports, restaurants, salons, gyms -and we always have to be on our toes and see who is around us. Today, even if we want to keep our life private, I don't think that's possible.”

What`s her take on people calling her immensely guarded?

“Some people think that I am very arrogant, but I am genuinely a private and shy person. I open up to only those who are close to me, and with them, I am a different person. So, I think that at times, my shyness is perceived by some people as arrogance.”

Jhanvi and Khushi, the actress` daughters will also be a part of Mom, produced by Boney Kapoor (her husband)which makes things pretty much exciting for the star too.

She says “Boney Ji is very excited. Yes, he is doing a film with me after 20 years; the last one was Judaai. It was like a home production, where all of us were involved. We were looking for someone fresh and good looking to play my husband and Jhanvi showed us Adnan Siddiqui's (Pakistani actor) picture. We all liked him right away and reached out to him. The director of the film, Ravi Udyawar, is new and I am often asked why I am working with new directors. I say, `Why not?' I am lucky that I got a chance to work with Gauri Shinde (English Vinglish) and now, Ravi. He had a great vision for Mom and was so passionate about it that I couldn't imagine anyone else doing justice to the film.”

Since her husband is the producer, you`d think that they`d maintain a different level of professionalism on set with bare-minimum communication.

Sri Devi says

“Really? I don't think that it is a big deal. When I am shooting, I don't want to see my husband around or even remember that he is my husband; I just want to focus on my work. Yes, it's true that I barely conversed with him during shoot; we were staying on different floors and just wished each other good morning and good night.”

What`s her method of acting and how does she hold her emotions for a long time for the shoot? Even when the time-intervals between two scenes can vastly differ?

She replies “I think Mom was an intense film for me. One of my friends, who met me during the shoot and afterward, told me that I was a different person while shooting for the film. Interestingly, I didn't even realize that. It is a very emotional character, so I guess somewhere, it must have consumed a lot of my emotional energy.”

How does she take part in her motherhood while being showered with success inthe spotlight?

She says “I brought up my kids the way my mom raised me. She gave me a normal upbringing, and when I h