Latest news with #Chhorii
India Today
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- India Today
‘Maa' review: Kajol's sheroic not-without-my-daughter act can't lift up this horror
Mothers are a resilient lot. Harm their kids, then be ready for a battle. In Maa, Kajol's maternal instincts face their toughest test as she contends with superstitions as well as a girl child-feasting, tree-residing monster who has eyes on her adolescent Ambika is an ordinary woman trapped in extraordinary circumstances, but then the film's title isn't just a nod to her but also to the powerful and dangerous deity who should not be messed with—Kali India's mythology and religious beliefs to craft a horror that's contemporarily relevant is a nifty idea that's been attempted before, but to do so frighteningly well is another thing altogether. Maa takes the tried and tested not-without-my-daughter formula and spins it round and round until audiences are left frustrated at the actions of scares begin when circumstances compel Ambika to travel to a cursed place and live in a mansion with a troubled past. It doesn't help that right behind it is a haunted jungle—a contrived convenience—where nary a villager dares to step. One of the constant critiques of the genre is that makers rely on the insatiable curiosity (read stupidity) of characters, in most cases female, to generate cheap thrills. When her child's (Roopkatha Chakraborty) sense of adventure sees her step into the dreaded jungle, maa has to step up and protect her child from the monster and his minions. A non-believer in the village's religious rituals, by the end she is part of Team Maa Vishal Furia has made a living out of developing feminist fables in the horror genre. After the two Chhorii films, which released direct on streaming, in Maa he gets to show off some of that big visual effects budget at his disposal. Maa's tree monster is a bit more elaborately created vis--vis the one in Munjya, though Furia never quite succeeds in stoking fear of the least one sequence brims with imaginative imagery in which both mother and daughter while trying to escape get attacked by possessed girls jumping onto their car. Where Maa appeals is in shining a light on the horrific practice of female infanticide and the taboos around periods that still persist in the time a typical tandav-trance rendition of Kali puja, with masks and wild dancing, unfolds, Maa is left with no room for suspense. The avenging mother takes on the asura to free her daughter from his clutches and the village from jungle raj. 'Maa hona kamzori nahin, shakti hai,' says Ambika as she name-checks Chamunda, Durga and her own name as women whose rage is their biggest weapon. Only it's less inspiring and more desperate display of shero worship. The makers, though, are convinced announcing a shaitaan horror to India Today Magazine- Ends
NDTV
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- NDTV
Maa Box Office Collection Day 2: Progress Report On Kajol's Film
New Delhi: Kajol's latest film Maa, a fantasy-horror-mythological thriller, opened in theatres on Friday, June 27, with a solid start at the box office. The Vishal Furia directorial picked up further steam on its first Saturday, earning an impressive Rs 6 crore, as per a report by Sacnilk. With a total runtime of 2 hours and 13 minutes, Maa has now collected Rs 10.65 crore in just two days. Directed by Vishal Furia, known for his genre-mixing work in Chhorii, Chhorii 2, Lapachhapi, and Forensic, the film appears to be setting its sights on its next box office milestone. As per the same report, the film registered an overall 26.38% Hindi occupancy on June 28. While morning shows had a modest turnout of just 9.94%, audience footfall steadily climbed throughout the day. Afternoon shows recorded a 26.87% occupancy, evening shows reached 30.26%, and night shows peaked at an impressive 38.45%. Banked by Ajay Devgn FFilms and Jio Studios, the movie has an emotional yet spiritual storytelling that pays a heartfelt tribute to Maa Kali, the Goddess of powerful feminine power. Written by Ajit Jagtap, Aamil Keeyan Khan, and Saiwyn Quadras, Maa 's plot revolves around the story of a mother (played by Kajol) who transforms into the fierce goddess Kali to battle a demonic curse rooted in fear, blood, and betrayal. In a post on Instagram, film critic Taran Adarsh has also evaluated Maa 's box office performance on the opening day despite strong competition. He penned, "#Maa [#MaaTheFilm] fares better than expected... Pre-release expectations and trade projections had pegged its Day 1 total at a modest Rs 3.50 cr, but the actual figures have surpassed estimates," adding, "Despite a limited release across 1500 screens in #India, #Maa held its own against strong competition - the holdover title #SitaareZameenPar, as well as new releases #Kannappa and the #Hollywood biggie #F1TheMovie... Yet, #Maa managed to draw a respectable number of footfalls." He also talked highly about marketing strategies that is likely to contribute to the film's turnout. "The 'Buy 2 - Get 1' free ticket offer [valid only on Friday] also boosted turnout... That said, the real test begins now - all eyes are on the Saturday and Sunday business," he concluded. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Taran Adarsh (@taranadarsh) The mythological horror thriller also features Yaaneea Bharadwaj, Roopkatha Chakraborty, Surjyasikha Das, Jitin Gulati, Ronit Roy, Indraneil Sengupta and Gopal Singh in key roles.
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Maa box office collection day 1: Kajol's folk horror opens with Rs. 4.5 crore, left in the dust by Brad Pitt's F1
After a three-year hiatus from the big screen, Bollywood star Kajol returned in a new avatar with Maa, her first venture into the horror genre. Directed by Vishal Furia, best known for the Chhorii franchise, Maa marks a bold shift in Kajol's filmography and has opened on a promising note at the domestic box office. According to early estimates from industry tracker Sacnilk, Maa earned Rs. 4.5 crore (India nett) on its opening day. This performance significantly outpaces Kajol's last theatrical release, Salaam Venky, which collected only Rs. 0.65 crore on day one. The film registered an overall Hindi occupancy of 20.52% on Friday. As expected for a horror release, the morning shows saw a subdued turnout (8.23%), but occupancy steadily improved through the day, reaching 20.08% in the afternoon and peaking at 32.61% for the night shows. Regionally, Chennai led with the highest occupancy at 31.33%, followed by Lucknow at 28.75%, and the National Capital Region (NCR) at 27.00%. Mumbai trailed in fourth place with a 23.50% occupancy rate. Also Read | Maa movie review: Kajol's well-intentioned film keeps first half loose, second half muddled Maa is set within the expanding Shaitaan cinematic universe, which began with the 2024 supernatural thriller Shaitaan, starring Ajay Devgn and R Madhavan. That film debuted to Rs. 14.75 crore and went on to become a horror blockbuster. Maa's connection to that universe is expected to give it added momentum in the coming days, alongside generally decent word of mouth. However, Maa faces stiff box office competition. Aamir Khan's Sitaare Zameen Par, in its second week, reportedly earned Rs. 6.75 crore on its eighth day. Additionally, the international release F1: The Movie, starring Brad Pitt, made a strong start with Rs. 5.25 crore in India, further intensifying the race for audience attention. The film tells the story of Ambika, a fierce mother played by Kajol, who will go to any length to protect her daughter from otherworldly threats. With rising audience interest in horror across regions and languages, Maa is well-positioned to benefit from a growing trend, where well-executed horror films are finding commercial success in Indian cinema.
India Today
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- India Today
Maa review: Kajol salvages striking but familiar myth-meets-fantasy horror
Kajol, as the powerful mom, battling demonic forces to save her daughter? Now that's the kind of pitch that sounds like it should leave you glued to your seats. And in some ways, 'Maa' really does try. It's visually ambitious, leans heavily into mythology, and finally gives Indian horror a high-gloss makeover. But beneath the myth and fantasy, you'll find a story that has been told before, something that fails to invoke any strong follows quite a predictable arc: an ordinary mother with a child in danger, a cursed past, a mysterious mytho-creature, and then, of course, the divine awakening. The setting makes you want to enter the world, but the horror genre thrives on tension, surprise, jump scares, and some disruption. The plots are guessable and the beats too familiar, taking the edge off what could have been a powerful on a positive note, what really works in this Vishal Furia film is the VFX. From shape-shifting shadows to mythical creatures and haunted houses, 'Maa' is visually striking. There are moments that genuinely feel scary, with frames that look straight out of a dark fantasy graphic novel. If we were to rate this film only on its visual appeal, it would have ranked pretty high. But a horror film can't rely on just how good it What stands out is how Goddess Kaali takes charge in this one, because in recent years, it's been mostly Durga Maa who has been celebrated in celluloid. The use of mythology also adds an interesting page, as the filmmaker pulls in India's spiritual and cultural narratives into the story. Blending folklore with emotions, it also celebrates femininity and motherhood, and Kajol perfectly brings the intensity and gravitas required for the role. You believe her rage, you feel her desperation, and you want to root for her as she treads on the thorn-filled path to save her daughter. As for the director, Vishal Furia might benefit from stepping back and reassessing his creative choices. After watching 'Chhorii', 'Chhorii 2', and now 'Maa', it seems like his storytelling and vision are beginning to blur into one another. Also, given that the story is set against a Bengali backdrop, the makers fall into the usual stereotypical tropes. The authenticity is lost as they maul the language with over-the-top accents and portray traits that are more social media memes than Ronit Roy emerges as a surprise packet, seeing him butcher the language with every dialogue seemed like a personal attack on Bengalis. Just swapping your 'aa' with 'oo' is not the way to go. And this is why Indraneil Sengupta stands out with his impactful performance even in his minuscule role. We often wonder why filmmakers are not giving him more substantial roles. The young Kherin Sharma and Rupkatha Chakraborty also seem promising, while Jitin Gulati is highly wasted in the gesture of crediting the cast and crew alongside their mothers' names was a touching tribute. And the use of Jubin Nautiyal's 'Humnava Mere' to underscore the mother-daughter bond was also quite a masterstroke. The haunting melody not only amplified their relationship but also became a thematic beat for the a cinephile, it's disheartening to realise that we are still stuck in that limbo where horror either goes full melodrama or dabbles in myth without fully committing to the psychological weight of it. However, just like in 'Maa', Kajol, the saviour, manages to salvage the film too, but only just about.- Ends2.5 out of 5 stars for 'Maa'.Trending Reel
Scroll.in
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scroll.in
‘Maa' review: A feeble and dull battle between mothers and monsters
Forty years ago, a girl was born in a landlord's family in Chandarpur village in Bengal. The girl was immediately sent to her death – the landlord was steeped in Kali worship and believed that the girl infant must be sacrificed if Kali's adversary, the demigod Raktabeej, was to be vanquished. In the present, the landlord's son Shubhankar (Indraneil Sengupta) has a mysterious accident while visiting his ancestral mansion. Shubhankar and his wife Ambika (Kajol) have avoided visiting Chandarpur for years. They especially don't want to take their 12-year-old daughter Shweta (Jherin Sharma) there. Yet, here is Ambika and Shweta in Chandarpur, fulfilling the first rule of the horror film formula: the lead characters will walk resolutely towards peril, ignoring every warning sign. Ambika finds herself battling a manifestation of a demonic force that has ghastly designs on Shweta and the other girls in the village. The problem with Maa isn't Ambika's unreasonable actions – irrationality is a cornerstone of horror. Rather, the trouble with Vishal Furia's movie is how literal-minded and feeble it turns out to be. For a film about a potent and fierce goddess, Maa is a resolutely tame affair. Like Ambika, Maa too in constantly looking for miracles – a tough ask, given Saiwyn Quadras's plodding screenplay, a barely scary monster created with pedestrian visual effects, and clumsy links between Ambika's maternal instincts and Kali's divine powers. Furia's previous three films – the Marathi-language Lapachhapi, its Hindi remake Chhorii and the sequel Chhorii 2 – have all been about women trying to protect their daughters from malevolent beings who represent the very real horror of patriarchy. Furia is admirably dedicated to making pure horror films rather than follow the trend of horror comedies. Maa is a poor showcase of Furia's feel for the genre. The film neither creates emotional engagement with its characters nor has the technical polish to be a convincing scare-fest. Except for a few scenes, there is a lack of atmospherics needed to carry off a tale of demonic possession. No heart beat is skipped when the monster, looking like a mean-tempered version of the tree spirits from the Lord of the Rings films, makes its appearance. Nor is the big revelation about the monster's human helper a real surprise. A haunted jungle that is right next to the mansion, separated by a crumbling wall or two? A concerned mother who drags her daughter to a place that has never been good to young girls? A Bengali pre-teen who has been raised in Kolkata but has no idea about the belief system in Kali? Maa isn't even trying. The 135-minute film gains some traction towards the climax, when Ambika channelises her inner goddess. A heavily made-up Kajol tries her best, but the battle was lost even before Ambika set foot in Chandarpur. Play
