Maa movie review: Kajol shines as fierce protective mother in Vishal Furia's thrilling mythological horror

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Star cast: Kajol Tanuja Devgn, Ronit Dolly Boseroy, Indraneil Shubhra Sengupta, Jitin Jyoti Gulati, Kherin Kavita Sharma, Gopal Ramraji Devi Singh, Surjasikha Niru Das, Rupkatha China Chakraborty, Vibha Sharda Rani, Yaaneea Sushma Bharadwaj, Dibyendu Gayatri Bhattacharyya
Director: Vishal Furia
In the last few years, we have seen horror movies making a big noise at the box office in Bollywood. While this genre, which was once quite niche among the audience, has turned out to be a massy affair after its combination with comedy and classic examples of it include Stree, Stree 2, Munjya, and Bhediya, among others. These movies also garnered appreciation for exploring the folklore culture and narrating the heartland story of India.
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Now, Kajol starrer Maa has taken one step ahead by amalgamating the horror genre with mythology. While the promotional material struck a chord with the audience, let's see whether it lives up to the expectations or not…
The story starts at Chandrapur, West Bengal, where a mother is giving birth and simultaneously a Kaali Pooja is taking place. A group of young misogynist boys discuss with Joydev (Naveen Sandhu) that since he is a man, he should be doing the pooja and not a woman. Joydev, who is also not happy with the present situation, says that since the goddess came in her dream, she got the honour to do that pooja.
Simultaneously, the pregnant woman gives birth to a baby boy and her husband, who is happy and ecstatic, names his newborn Shuvankar. The delivery lady says that since there are twins, she is now giving birth to the second baby, which turns out to be a girl.
The atmosphere turns intense as no one is happy and the father gives the baby to a woman, who performed Kaali Pooja. They all go to the dense, dark forest near a haunted tree and sacrifice her before Daitya, named Aamsaja, comes in search of her.
Cut to, 40-years-later, Shuvankar (Indraneil Sengupta) is living a happy life with his wife Ambika (Kajol) and 12-year-daughter Shweta (Kherin Sharma) in Kolkata. While everything goes smoothly, Shweta is always seen demanding her parents to take her to Chandrapur but they dodge it, giving some excuses. Shuvankar and Ambika decide to tell everything to Shweta about Chandrapur, but the former receives a call about his father's demise. He leaves Chandrapur immediately, and after completing all the rituals, he tells Joydev (Ronit Roy), who is now the Sarpanch of the village that he wants to sell this wadi (his bungalow) and to arrange a broker as he wants to get rid of this cursed place.
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As Shuvankar walks towards his car along with the ashes urn, he slips and a piece of a wooden tree gets stuck to his footwear. As he is driving back to Kolkata, Ambika sends him a picture of Shweta's drawing, which turns out to be the image of that haunted tree aka Aamsaja daitya. Shocked, Shuvankar stops his car and calls Ambika to ask about the image, particularly about how Shweta saw the eyes in the tree. Due to the poor connection, the conversation between them gets hampered. Seeing the piece of wood stuck to her footwear when he tries to remove it, it turns out to be a daitya, who kills Shuvankar.
Shattered and devastated, Shweta and Ambika are now coping with the death of Shuvankar, and as they are trying to get normal, Joydev tells the latter to come to Chandrapur to finalise the deal of their ancestral home. While Ambika reluctantly refuses and tells Joydev to handle it himself, promising him a commission, he convinces her to come by saying that it was Shuvankar's last wish, it would be great if she would personally come to Chandrapur and finalise the deal.
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As Ambika leaves for Chandrapur, Shweta insists on accompanying her as she is afraid to lose her after Shuvankar. As the duo enters the village, people see them weirdly, with their servant's wife showing her clear dislike towards Shweta.
During their stay, Ambika comes across weird and horrific encounters along with stories which somehow get connected to the life of her daughter. How will she fight the evil forces and save Shweta from Aamsaja?
First and foremost, Maa explores the social and societal dynamics of having a girl child, mom being a fierce warrior for her daughter and toxic masculinity with finesse. But for me, the best part is how the film perfectly blended the horror genre with mythology, which not only made it relevant and earthy but also narrated the plot of good over evil with a unique plot.
Filmmaker Vishal Furia made Maa an engaging affair with its solid twists and turns, along with a story which will strike a chord with the Indian audience. Apart from the director, Pushkar Singh and Sandeep Francis deserve brownie points for brilliant camera work, which transports into the haunting world and sharp editing skills.
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Talking about the performances, Kajol delivers a powerful act as fierce and protective, who can go to any extent to save her daughter. In the climax sequence, her performance will give you goosebumps. While Ronit Roy is simply superb as Joydev, Indraneil Sengupta makes an impact with his presence despite having a brief screen time. Kherin Sharma perfectly exudes innocence as Shweta. Special mention to Gopal Singh, Rupkatha Chakraborty, Dibyendu Bhattacharyya, Surjasikha Das and Vibha Rani for playing their characters to the T.
On the whole, Maa is a gripping mythological horror, which will keep you glued to the big screen.
Rating: 3.5 (out of 5 stars)
Maa is playing in cinemas