Star Cast: Kajol, Ronit Roy, Indraneil Sengupta, Kherin Sharma
Director: Vishal Furia
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What’s Bad: The vital second half is mediocre, and stretched as well.
Loo Break: The second half actually has a few spaces for that!
Watch or Not?: Horror freaks can watch it, ditto Kajol fans.
Language: Hindi
Available On: Theatrical release
Runtime: 135 Minutes
User Rating:
The story of Maa is set in a small village in West Bengal. Shuvankar (Indraneil Sengupta) and Ambika (Kajol) live a happy life in the city with daughter Shweta (Kherin Sharma). Shweta insists on visiting her father’s ancestral village during the holidays, but Shuvankar isn’t keen. The parents discuss this privately and come to the conclusion that sooner or later, Shweta must know the ‘truth’ of why they have not taken her there—ever.
That night, Shuvankar comes to know that his father had passed away. He leaves immediately in the dead of night, and after the last rites are done, he requests family friend Joydev (Ronit Roy) to find a broker and sell off their massive haveli (mansion) as he does not like the vibe. On the way back (again at dead of night) in his car, evil spirits surround him and he is burned alive.
Three months later, Joydev requests Ambika to come to the town to meet a broker, and Shweta insists that she come along. As soon as they enter the village, Ambika sees an illusion of her husband and almost loses control of her car. Shweta screams a warning, and their servant couple’s daughter, Deepika (Rupkatha Chakraborty), escapes being hurt. Ambika and Deepika soon become friends, but Deepika’s mother, Nandini (Surjasikha Das), is not happy with this as she would rather that Ambika and Shweta leave. Her husband, Bikash (Gopal Singh), calms her.
During their visit, Ambika comes to know that the local Kali Maa temple has been locked for over 40 years. A tree that Shuvankar and she knew about as haunted has been inexplicably drawn on paper by Shweta. Ambika tells Shweta not to go anywhere without telling her, but Deepika and Shweta secretly go to see the tree. The same night, Deepika goes missing.
Finally, Ambika tells Shweta the ominous legend of Goddess Kali and the demon Raktbeej. Every drop of Raktbeej’s blood that falls on the ground gives birth to a new rakshas—this is a belief famous in Bengal. And then it is time for Shweta to be ‘abducted’ like many other girls in the town. And yes, Raktbeej, who has been destroyed by Maa Kali, has a successor, and he resides in the same tree. He desires to impregnate a girl who will give birth to his heir!
The script is tight in the first half, which gives rise to the hope that we are in for a different and gripping horror experience around an intimate and loving family, a la Ajay Devgn’s earlier horror drama production, Shaitaan. But after the interval, logic (even the fantasy one associated with the supernatural genre!) goes out of the window.
There is a lot of brouhaha around the first menstrual periods of pubertal girls, and this link with ‘impregnation’ becomes laughable as no woman can biologically conceive during that phase! Also, the premise behind a creature abducting such girls and then returning them in a few days in a way that they have stopped having their monthly cycles without being pregnant is laughable.
In the climax, Ambika is suffused with Maa Kali’s strength (as she has reopened the temple and conducted a puja), but is still beaten and banged against trees and on the ground by the spirit, and still gets up to fight! Why the servant’s father, Bimal (Dibyendu Bhattacharya), suddenly begins talking after years and is also murdered (no spoiler there) a short while later, is something not really explained convincingly. The core story of the curse on the town and the Shuvankar family almost reaches absurd lengths after the evil force is destroyed, and this final sequence between Ambika and Shweta and its concept is ridiculous to the extreme.
Shockingly, Saiwyan Quadras, who has written great scripts like Mary Kom, Neerja, Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran, and Maidaan in the recent past, is credited with the story and screenplay.
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Kajol gives a superb performance as the harangued mother and determined woman who will fight for what is right. Without her, this movie would have been a shipwreck! Kherin Sharma as her daughter is alright, but it is Rupkatha Chakraborty who shines as Deepika. The supporting actors are decent, with Dibyendu having a skilled cameo as Bimal. Indraneil Sengupta is competent as Shuvankar, and Ronit Bose Roy as the sympathetic and supportive Joydev shines. Surjasikha Das and Gopal Singh are competent.
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Having directed mediocre horror stories like the Chhorii franchise, I did not have great expectations from director Vishal Furia. However, he could have exerted himself (with Qaudras) when he had a big setup and a mega-star like Kajol, who has said that she has been a big fan of mythological stories, especially that of Raktbeej and Maa Kali. This film relies more on VFX and the usual tropes to try and create horror that is not at all scary.
The songs are forgettable, come Shreya Ghoshal or Usha Uthup in her first film in 18 years after Hattrick. Amar Mohile’s background score is passable.
This one’s for hard-boiled horror fans only. And for Kajol’s admirers. But given her powerhouse prowess as an actress, I would definitely now want her to do films that have more solid content in them than just her own impeccable performances!
Two and a half stars!
Maa released on 27th June, 2025.
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