Maa Movie Review: Kajol Shines in a Divine Mess of a Horror Drama

Introduction
Vishal Furia’s Maa attempts to blend supernatural horror with mythological reverence, delivering a theatrical experience that tiptoes between the divine and the dreadful. Featuring Kajol in an intense lead performance, Maa is visually ambitious but ultimately let down by its muddled narrative and over-reliance on familiar horror tropes.

⭐ Movie Rating: ★★☆☆☆ (2/5)

A Glimpse into Divine Horror

Fifty years after Jai Santoshi Maa turned cinema halls into shrines, Maa tries to channel a similar religious fervor—but with jump scares and CGI vines. The film opens strong, grounding itself in a seemingly rich mythological lore inspired by goddess Kaali and the demon Raktbeej. However, that initial promise fizzles out fast.

Kajol plays Ambika, a grieving mother who finds herself entangled in a dark supernatural web after the mysterious death of her husband, Shuvankar (Indraneil Sengupta). A return to his ancestral rajbari in Chandrapur reveals unsettling secrets, echoing the horrors of patriarchy, infanticide, and intergenerational trauma.

What Works: Kajol and the Visual Set-Pieces

Kajol commands the screen with conviction, even when the screenplay loses direction. Her transformation from a distressed widow to a channel of divine feminine rage is earnest, if a bit theatrical. Two action-horror set-pieces—one involving rogue tree vines attacking a car, and another with a ghost girl siege on an SUV—offer brief glimpses of a tighter, more engaging film.

The film’s VFX (produced by Devgn Films) is occasionally impressive, especially during high-octane scenes. But in quieter moments, the CGI is glaring and breaks immersion.

What Fails: A Script in Search of Substance

The main problem with Maa is that it sets up an elaborate game, only to flip the board halfway through. The horror elements feel borrowed from better films (Bulbbul, Stree), and the social commentary on female oppression and nari shakti is spelled out rather than woven in.

Ghostly apparitions, creepy caretakers, and a banyan tree that screams “danger”—it’s all been done before. The lore fails to add freshness, and the climax—where Kajol literally levitates as a goddess—borders on parody.

Themes That Overlap but Don’t Land

Like in Chhorii, Furia revisits themes of female suffering and resistance, but here it feels repetitive and underdeveloped. At times, Maa plays like a spiritual sequel to Shaitaan (2024), complete with over-the-top background music, derivative plot twists, and a tease of a post-credit scene that never justifies itself.

Final Verdict: A Visual Spectacle Without Soul

Maa is a film torn between horror and devotion, fear and faith. With stronger writing and a more coherent mythological structure, it could have been something unique. But the final result is a confused spiritual horror film that bites off more than it can chew.

Kajol does her best to lift this loosely assembled horror flick with gravitas, but even her dramatic deity act can’t save it from narrative purgatory.