Introduction to Maa
The greatest pleasure in Maa (Mother) observes Kajol Kick Ass. While the actor has spent over three decades playing everything from the girl who wanted to take every boy home to mother (as Simran in Diwal Dulhania Le Jayge) to a direct villain (like Isha in Gup), we have rarely seen them in action mode.
A New Role for Kajol
Here she becomes a rescuer – think of Liam Neeson in Taken. Except that since then Maa is invoiced as mythological horror, the savings are made in a creepy hamlet near Kolkata, India, Chandanpur. When a demon named Doito comes after her 12-year-old daughter Shweta (Kherin Sharma), Kajol’s Ambika turns into fire and Brimstone.
The Story Behind Maa
Maa is the second entry in the common universe, which started with 2024 Shaitaan. At the end of his Kabir (Ajay Devgn, a producer of Maa) commented: "If you want to understand the true meaning of strength, watch how a mother fights for your child. In the entire universe, there is no stronger God than a mother." Maybe this is the line that inspired this spinoff. But although Kajol is solid as the divine female (whose name, Ambika, another name for the goddess Durga), I only wished that the film had more of her anger.
The Making of Maa
The film is staged by Vishal Furia and written by Saiwyn Quadras, and while horror in Furia’s Steuerhaus is a lot (contained its previous credits Chhorii and its continuation) represents a departure for Quadras that is known for biopika as is known Neerja and Mary Com. Here Quadras offers the story of Kali Maa and Raktbeej, the mighty demon, which can replicate from every drop of his blood that spills on the floor. The idea of revising such a fascinating religious myth into modern horror sounds fascinating on paper. But it does not prove so much in the execution.
Horror Elements
Horror films are not about logic, so we cannot ask questions how to get an Ambika Shweta to Chandanpur when she knows his dangerous story or why she stays despite all the strange things. Characters in these films never seem to leave the haunted place if they were supposed to. But we expose the unbelief and accept it as part of the deal. What is more difficult to make peace here are the lack of horrors and the sluggish pace.
Comparison to Shaitaan
Shaitaan was anchored by a solid action, with a stranger coming home and taking possession of a young girl. There was also a delicious performance by R. Madhavan as the title Teufel, his perverse pleasure to torture the girl and her parents for her own entertainment.
The Antagonist
The gaping hole in Maa is the weak antagonist. Despite the VFX and the background value, Doito has no centimeter threat. In fact, I always thought that this tree-like creature with snake branches that he used murderingly basically was an overgrown and angry version of Groot from Guardian of the galaxy films. There is very little personality here and he is fed up with unforgettable dialogue, as in a scene in which he says to a man: "Your heart is black. You could be useful for me."
The Story and Setting
The story is both slow and confused – there are human sacrifices, Kali Puja, a Rajbari (manor house) with 30 rooms. (If you want to see a much better use of large Bengal men in a horror film, read Anvitaa Dutt’s Pear.) Maa also has echos of Rosemary’s baby with feminist underflowing that you could remember that Stry franchise and frame in height Shaitaan. And although Furia used sugar cane fields in great use Chorii, here the forest is too wrong to get fear.
Conclusion
There are a few funny jumps – but little that is cold or annoying. The end result is theoretically more interesting than in the execution. Pour: Kajol, Ronit Roy, Inddraneil Sengupta. Director: Vishal Furia. Screenplay author: Saiwyn Quadras. The film’s runtime is 2 hours 15 minutes.
