Latest news with #Shuvankar
New Indian Express
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
'Maa' movie review: Kajol's dramatic deity act in loosely assembled horror film
Last month marked the 50th anniversary of the release of Jai Santoshi Maa (1975), a cultural phenomenon which turned theatres into temples. I am not joking. The film was such a craze that villagers reached their nearby towns in bullock carts, took off their slippers at the entrance of the cinema hall and possibly prostrated when Anita Guha, as the titular Santoshi Maa, appeared on screen. It wasn't a sleeper hit, the film managed to score big at the box office in a year of Sholay and Deewar. It even surpassed the latter in collections. Everytime the glowing imagery of Kaali turned up in Maa, the Kajol-headliner supernatural-horror film, I couldn't help but think of some theatre where a viewer might be putting their popcorn aside to fold hands and seek blessings from the deity. It's strange to feel both dread and divinity in such a quick succession. Fear gives in to reverence, a microcosm of how religion operates. There are some questionable plot developments, some VFX which screams VFX but who cares? It's like PK turning the other cheek with Shiva's sticker on it. Objectivity logs out when faith enters the chat. Maa claims to be set in the world of Shaitaan (2024) which made me deduce three things: a girl will have to be saved from the horrors of patriarchy, there will be blaring BGM and we should all wait for a post-credit scene. The film revolves around Ambika (Kajol), her husband Shuvankar (Indraneil Sengupta) and their daughter Shweta (Kherin Sharma). Shuvankar hails from a rajbari-owning family of West Bengal's Chandrapur, a place he and his wife are hush-hush about in front of their curious daughter. A death in the family makes Shuvankar pay a visit to his ancestral house but he predictably doesn't make it back. While dealing with the grief of losing him, Ambika gets a call from Chandrapur's sarpanch Joydev (Ronit Roy) informing her that selling the rajbari was Shuvankar's final wish. Skeptical, Ambika and Shweta soon land in Chandrapur. Regular horror-isms kick in once the narrative shifts to the rajbari. There is a creepy banyan tree in the woods behind. The caretaker's family, which lives in the mansion, gives off strange vibes. We see teenage ghost girls peep at Shweta and often appear on the side of a frame to offer a lousy jump scare. Maa is directed by Vishal Furia, who has previously helmed Chhorii (2021) and Chhorii 2 (2025). He seems to be going over the same themes of patriarchy and female infanticide with this one. Infants cry in the jungle, little girls are offered as a bali, we see Kajol drown under a mob of women, an image similar to what Nushrratt Bharuccha endures in Chhorii 2, a literal representation of how patriarchy makes women pull down women. Maa is what you get if you cross Bulbbul (2020) with a Maddock horror film. Its themes feel dated, explored so often in the Stree films. The build-up is effective, but only in parts. The lore of the film is derived from the indigenous tale of deity Kaali and her battle with the demon Raktbeej but its visual design seems borrowed. The villain looks like if the Night King from Game of Thrones decided to join the Children of the Forest. There are some impressive set-pieces though and two of them involve cars. One is when Shuvankar's vehicle is attacked by a bunch of rogue tree vines (can't explain) and another is when Kajol's Ambika and her daughter Shweta are trapped inside an SUV being zombie-hoarded by over a dozen ghost girls. The film seems constantly in a bid to exhibit its special effects (VFX by Devgn Films) which, although competent, often pops out like a sore thumb in an otherwise lacklustre plot. Maa sets it up decently but then messes up the gameboard stating that it doesn't want to play. Its lore doesn't hold and the plotline is predictable, derivative and often confusing at times. I sighed once the dramatic exchanges on nari shakti and a mother's power began. Kajol was soon levitating with her hair flying in the wind. The villain utters something along the lines of 'you are a mere mortal, woman.' There are only two options. You can either laugh loudly at the silliness unfolding on the screen and invite the ire of the believers in your theatre or you can sit back, relax, crunch on that popcorn, and pray. It will be over soon. 'Maa' Rating 2/5 Directed by: Vishal Furia Written by: Saiwyn Quadras Cast: Kajol, Ronit Roy, Indraneil Sengupta, Kherin Sharma and Dibyendu Bhattacharya
News18
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- News18
Maa Movie Review: Only Kajol Shines In This Mythological Horror Fantasy
Last Updated: As much as the film has tried to show Bengali culture and traditions, it also feels like it's again bringing to light the kind of mumbo jumbo that's always been doing the rounds. Kajol's latest release Maa, directed by Vishal Furia, is a mythological horror fantasy that fails to capitalise on a story that could have been brought to light with an even bigger impact. The movie revolves around a plot that mixes mythology, fantasy, and horror all together. The story begins with an age-old tradition of sacrificing every girl child born within the royal family to seek protection from Goddess Kali against a monster who has been terrorising the area of Chandrapur in West Bengal, where the film is set. Once the concept and the narrative of the movie is established, the story shows that Kajol and her husband, Shuvankar (Indraneil Sengupta), stay far away from Chandrapur. However, Shuvankar, who belongs to the royal family has a girl child with Kajol but hides it from his family to protect her from being killed as an act of sacrifice. Situations and circumstances quickly take a turn for the worse for Kajol and her daughter, who are left alone after the sudden death of Shuvankar, who visits Chandrapur after the demise of his father. For almost 12 years since the birth of their daughter, Shweta (Kherin Sharma), Ambika (Kajol) and Shuvankar have kept her hidden from Chandrapur and have never visited the palace due to the family history. However, after Shuvankar's death, Kajol is forced to visit Chandrapur and is forced to take her daughter along, who insists on visiting her father's palatial house that is put up for sale. Ambika learns a lot more about Chandrapur and the tales of the demon who resides there and is in disbelief with the mishaps that start happening ever since she sets foot in the palace with her daughter. And how she, as a mother, navigates through the horror is what makes up for the rest of the film. The concept and story have substance, but the film lacked largely because of its style of storytelling. Besides, the film also has a lot of stereotypes that could have been done without. Besides the exaggeration that the palace had a almost 30-feet tall Kali maa's stone carved statue, the way people from Chandrapur talk in the film, everything seems to be a cliche that all the Bengalis would be running away from. It only gets disappointing to see Ronit Roy, who plays a vital part in the film, deliver all his Hindi dialogues with such a heavy Bengali accent. A lot would argue that it is not how people from Bengal speak when they talk in Hindi. When it comes to individual performances, Kajol is commendable as Ambika and convinces us to believe that she actually is the chosen one by a higher power. Besides, who doesn't love it when Kajol turns all her motherly instincts on screen? That's exactly what she has done here as well. She has single-handedly carried the film on her shoulders and might just be the saviour for her home brand, Devgn Films. However, the rest of the cast, including Ronit Roy, have given an average performance. But that can also be blamed on the lack of depth in the script and the VFX, which rather makes it look unreal. As much as the film tried to showcase Bengali culture and traditions, it also feels like it's again bringing to light the kind of mumbo jumbo that's always been doing the rounds. And that was again a disappointing factor. Having said that, certain scenes and jump scares in the movie do give you goosebumps, but unfortunately, don't leave you impressed at a stretch to change your idea about how the film pans out. Overall, it's a one-time watch and needs a lot more to even become a notable film from the series or the universe of Shaitaan, which was released in 2024, starring R Madhavan and Ajay Devgn in the lead roles First Published: June 27, 2025, 09:00 IST
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- First Post
Maa movie review: Kajol shines as fierce protective mother in Vishal Furia's thrilling mythological horror
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. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 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. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 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. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 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. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 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
