Blending folklore with supernatural dread, ‘Maa’ arrived in cinema halls with the promise of spine-chilling thrills and emotional gravitas, led by the ever-reliable Kajol in a commanding central role.

Produced by Ajay Devgn’s production house and promoted as “From the world of ‘Shaitaan’,” the film also features Ronit Roy and Kherin Sharma in pivotal parts, and sets out to explore the haunting consequences of faith, fear, and curses.

On paper, Maa holds the potential to be a gripping mythological horror, but the execution falters early on. Saddled with a painfully predictable storyline and a lack of narrative urgency, the film never quite builds the tension it needs. Even Kajol’s magnetic screen presence and emotionally charged performance struggle to lift Maa from the weight of its own mediocrity, making it more of a missed opportunity than a memorable genre entry.

Where it all begins:

As the title and trailer suggest, ‘Maa’ tells the story of a devoted mother, Ambika (played by Kajol), who goes to extraordinary lengths to protect her daughter, Shweta (Kherin). In her darkest hour, she finds strength and guidance in the divine presence of Maa Kali. The story begins with the sacrifice of a girl child at a fictionalised village in West Bengal called ‘Chandrapur’. It then cuts to 40 years later, showing Ambika spending a happy life with her husband Shubhankar (Indraneil Sengupta) and daughter Shweta. Though Ambika and Shubhankar avoid talking about Chandrapur, the latter’s ancestral village, he is forced to visit it after his father’s passing away. However, Shubhankar also dies on his way back home. A few months later, Ambika visits Chandrapur with Shweta to sell off the ancestral property upon ‘Sarpanch Babu’ Joydev’s (Ronit) request.

What unfolds next is a string of eerie, inexplicable events that culminate in Shweta’s abduction by an otherworldly figure. Running parallel to this is a mythological subplot that delves into the aftermath of the battle between Maa Kali and the demon Raktabeej.

The film’s saving graces:

Kajol’s performance as a fierce mother is the biggest saving grace. It almost feels like the role was crafted keeping her in mind. She delivered an impactful performance that resonated with the audience emotionally as well. The scenes that capture Ambika’s unwavering love for her daughter—and her fierce determination to protect her at all costs—strike an emotional chord and feel deeply relatable. Her desperation, fear, and resilience as a mother are portrayed with such conviction that they become some of the film’s most affecting moments.

Another saving grace of the film is Ronit as Joydeep, who is a pleasant surprise. He once again goes on to prove that he is an actor meant for greater and varied roles, yet is highly underrated in the industry. Just as Kajol, Ronit too is quite a treat to watch.

Its background score also has a little to offer, but if compared with ‘Shaitaan’, ‘Maa’ doesn’t really meet the expectations. The song ‘Kaali Shakti’, sung by Usha Uthup, is a well-composed number, however, it’s picturization during the climax, seems forced.

Areas where the film falters:

Not one or two, but there are too many places where director Vishal Furia’s ‘Maa’ failed to hit the mark. Foremost, it’s the predictable storyline of good versus bad and god versus the devil. Though the makers tried to bring in the story of Maa Kali for a more local, cultural, and mythological connect with the audience, it somehow doesn’t click right, and mostly gets lost in transition.

Although ‘Maa’ largely revolves around its leading star, Kajol, it is painful to see how a brilliant ensemble of support cast, including Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Jitin Gulati, and Gopal Singh, was wasted entirely. Their characters had very little to nothing to bring to the table.

Adding to this, unlike the Ajay Devgn and Janki Bodiwala’s father-daughter chemistry in ‘Shaitaan’, Kajol and Kherin’s mother-daughter equation isn’t that impactful.

When it comes to delivering scares, ‘Maa’ has very little to no horror but creepy characters that keep popping in and out. Minus a few jump scares here and there, ‘Maa’ barely has the potential to scare you.

Another aspect that didn’t work is its visuals. While the old haveli that they’ve shown is visually appealing and perfect for a horror film setup, the VFX work is poor. It is so bad that the evil creature looks like a very lazy version of Groot that went evil.

Verdict:

Given the hype that was created around ‘Maa’, and the fact that it revolves around the legend of Maa Kali and Raktabeej, the film fails to deliver as per the expectations. In times when several Hindi films have used folklore to create successful films such as ‘Tumbad’ and ‘Munjya’, ‘Maa’ will leave you disappointed. What it certainly manages to do is build anticipation for R. Madhavan’s return in Shaitaan 2, which is officially confirmed just before the end credits roll.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars