Mumbai: Actress Maninee De is seen in director Mitu’s latest project ‘Ssup Ma’. She plays a matriarch in the YouTube series, and is quite excited about the project.
“I think it’s very close to how I am as a mother in real life. Secondly, it’s a fun dynamic between two women of different age groups, of different generations, and how they connect with each other. Also, how we learn from each other. It’s not the children who learn from us but we also learn from them. It’s kind of showing the differences in approach at the same time reaching a common goal,” she says.
One of the main reasons she said yes to the series is Mitu. “She is the writer, director and producer of ‘Ssup Ma’ is a very dear old friend of mine from Delhi. Her sensibilities match mine. She has a very modern and radical way of looking at things. She had proposed this to be done with my daughter who is right now in Dubai.”
“She always says that we are like the ‘Gilmore Girls’. It’s about a mother who gets pregnant early and I was in my mid-twenties when I got pregnant. Being a single parent I completely understand and relate to what Lorelai who is the protagonist in the show goes through,” she adds.
Talking more about the bond she shares with Mitu, Manini reveals that they have known each other for over two decades now.
“It has always been a very fruitful one. We are always like two equals meeting each other. We respect each other. I hold her in high regard. She is an extremely efficient and focussed human being. She is a sharp woman and has created a beautiful series. I want mothers, daughters and families to watch this together and enjoy it. The palate of the audience has definitely changed and we want more relatable stuff which is more natural, more real. I think it’s going to be a fun show and will touch your soul. It’s about everyday relatable things,” she explains.
‘Ssup’ is a mother-daughter story. “There is no preaching here, everything is done in a fun way. We are addressing issues that most mothers are facing today who are in their 40s and have grown-up children. I think it’s basically connecting with that audience. Lot of us are not technologically very adaptable.
“Our children are the ones that we go to for advice and guidance and the other thing is that the lines are very relatable. Everyday language is used. Along with entertainment you will also see moments of affection and bonding between mother and daughter and that is the USP of the show,” says Maninee.
The actor shares picking up most of her references from her daughter. “We discuss things and I have never considered my child any less, never treated her like an infant. I always spoke to her as somebody who has a lot of wisdom and understanding and yet at the same time, I was the mother figure. It’s an interesting recreation of how I had my experience with my daughter, discussing very frivolous as well as profound things.”
“As women there is a common chord of understanding about what relationships are like, sensitivity, reactions to people. All these things have been a big marker for me to understand my daughter. She and I are very different but have gotten together on the same path,” she adds.
