POPCORN REVIEWSS

One of the many weak aspects of Maa remains its characterization, something that is conveniently bartered for the folklore concept in the film. So when you are first introduced to Ambika (Kajol), you see her lecturing her young students on a mythological story involving Goddess Kaali and a monster who was destroyed at her hands. You almost immediate reminisce of the character of Sakshi (Nushrratt Bharuccha) conveying similar sentiments in the opening act of Chhorii 2 (2025), which incidently had the same maker at the helm of things. And instantly, you cannot tell both films apart other than the additional setting of Bengal in Maa, even as both characters of Sakshi and Ambika (another name for Maa Parvati who takes the form of Maa Kaali for the greater good; as mentioned by her character) are shown to be mothers. But one fundamental mistake that I am circling back to, remains the characterization of her daughter Shweta (Kherin Sharma).

The writers mention that Shweta is a 12 year old girl who is fascinated with the village of Chandrapur, the ancestral village of her father Shuvankar (Indraneil Sengupta). In an alternate universe, she would be Anjali from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1999) who would wish to go to a summer camp because she loves ‘singing and dancing’. But the close association of Shweta with Chandrapur isn’t explored beyond the obvious fact of the village being her ancestral home. It is a tad bit lazy to assume that a place that she strongly wishes to go, but is kept mysterious to her also, holds such a broad stroke of assumption in the narrative that remains a fundamental block in the screenplay. But that as it turned out, remained least of my problems.

On the brighter side of the narrative, the eerie setting of Chandrapur that is witness to twin tragedies, does hold an ambience of intrigue. There is pathos and fear in the air, even as fate brings Ambika and Shweta to the ill-fated place that is home to mysterious set of characters in the form of Joydeep (Ronit Roy), the new patriarch of the family, the help-clan Bikash (Gopal Singh) and his wife Nandini (Suryasikha Das), their daughter Deepika (Roopkatha Chakraborty) and a mysterious elderly stateman (Dibyendu Bhattacharya). It is seemingly clear that each of these characters hold a mystery, even as an adamant Shweta asks Deepika to take her to the deep woods in order to spot a sketch that was ‘accidently’ created on her tablet. This, even as the emotional core with respect to loss is completely sidelined in the tale, something that we see only glimpses of going forward.

From a concept perspective, the folklore works but only partially. And I say partially for two reasons – the revelation at the halfway mark was literally spoonfed to the viewers as opposed to allowing the viewers to unravel information (or even bits of it) through the drama, or alternately draw parallels with the central theme. That remained the crux of the drama, which was let out within a minute or two, whilst also being extremely convoluted with its undertones. Secondly, the writers also go overboard with a secondary theme of female infanticide that doesn’t seem seamless whilst marginally contradicting with the main folklore. Essentially, both these themes remain equally relevant, but when put together, the result is convoluted and contradicting. It is almost like Chhorii 2 (2025) and Bulbbul (2020) in a Stree (2018) world that doesn’t necessarily sit right.

The major issue lies in the second hour wherein the tone of the drama goes for a complete toss. Suddenly, the faded atmospherics that had held ground, make way for more extravagent and fantasy tones, something that you would see in a TV show like Naagin. The over-the-top indulgence is clear with a desperate attempt to bombard the viewers with a forced sense of horror that is virtually non-existent. And that made me realise on why the filmmakers opt for a horror-comedy genre instead of a plain horror – the reason is that plain horror can only hold your attention if the writing is solid (particularly in times today when there are handy distractions available around us).

The twist in the tale could literally be seen from a mile away, and so when the ‘big’ revelation takes place, it hardly comes as a shock. There is a brief period involving Ambika when she completely goes into a trance during a ritual, something that definitely contributed to an engaging watch. But almost immediately, the double whammy at the end converged the drama into a good versus evil story that didn’t completely utilize the folklore concept in a way to elevate the drama. Hence, the end did feel convenient and abrupt while also being underwhelming. And that did sum up the screenplay for me that remained inconsistent and mid, through and through. And and, the Shaitaan universe integration at the end felt just so forced, and an after-thought!