Interview with Deepti Naval who plays Sathnam’s mother
Interview with Deepti Naval, who plays Sathnam’s mother in The Boy With The Topknot.
Published: 7 November 2017
Sathnam discovers his mother throughout the drama. I don’t think he underestimates my character - he just realises throughout the film who his parents are
Tell us about your character, Sathnam’s mother
My character is a simple, middle-class woman, who is instinctively wise and very strong.
I thought she was a very interesting character because of the way she adapts herself in this country, the way she keeps her family together when things are kind of falling apart, the way she copes with everything and the way she keeps mental illness in the family guarded and keeps her children, her son especially, protected - I thought it was very interesting. So when I read the part of Sathnam’s mother I felt that I could do quite a few things with it.
It’s the first time I’ve played a Punjabi woman - I’ve never done that - I’ve been in indie films and English films, but I’ve not played a character who is from my home town, so I thought it was a good chance to do that.
And do you speak in Punjabi in the film?
Yes Sathnam’s mother speaks Punjabi. I speak Punjabi, mostly, and I do break into a little English in my own accent, you know, with a Punjab accent, but most of the film is in English. Everybody else speaks English but they understand her and they don’t reply in Punjabi, they keep replying in English and that’s the way it works in this household.
In the drama, do you think that Sathnam underestimates his mother? What’s their relationship like?
I think Sathnam discovers his mother throughout the drama. I don’t think Sathnam underestimates my character - but he just realises throughout the film who his parents are. He has a discovery and then feels much more responsible towards them - something that he has been ignoring as an adolescent and as a young man. Now he wants to confront where he comes from, what his family is and who his parents are. It’s an internal journey of discovering his parents and accepting his background.
