MAA Movie Review: A Mythological Horror Powered by Kajol's Unforgettable Performance
Director: Vishal Furia
Cast: Kajol, Ronit Roy, Indraneil Sengupta, Kherin Sharma, Jitin Gulati, Gopal Singh, Surjyasikha Das, Yaaneea Bharadwaj, Roopkatha Chakraborty
Runtime: 135 minutes
Rating: 4/5
Departing from his last action thriller, Vishal Furia, tackles a fresh and new genre, mythological-horror, tells a tale rooted in cultural folklore. Instead of relying on gimmicks, it blends emotion, and dread into a layered mythical narrative. Taking inspiration from folklore, packing it with powerhouse performances, hence creating a mythological horror entertainer that channels maternal grief into something mythic and terrifying.
Set in the cursed village of Chandrapur, MAA begins as a personal loss and slowly turns into a spiritual war. It narrates a raw and immersive tale, what happens when a mother's mourning collides with a curse, that to be a Daitya, born from spilled demonic blood, still alive and hungry and hunting. The film is a modern take on Kali Vs Raktabeej, from this seed of legend, the filmmaker builds a mysterious world which is terrifying and yet relatable.
The film delves into Faith Vs Evil, it's the main element of the narrative, where mythology and belief clash with dark forces in a modern-day setting. The film creatively reimagines the ancient tale of Kali and Raktabeej, infusing it with a contemporary tale. The epic climax of the film which is visceral, powerful, and crafted for the big screen is an ode to the mythology legend.
Kajol as Ambika, delivers one of the career best performance.. Her multi-layered and nuances performance ranging from a grieving widow to a fiercely protective mother, is outstanding. Ambika is probably Kajol's most daring and finest performance yet — a fearless, mythic role that fuses emotional depth with the power of divine fury. It's not just a mother defending her child against an evil — it's maternal love which turns into a godlike force of protection and vengeance.
Ambika's daughter Shweta (Kherin Sharma) becomes the target of family curse, and Ambika with the help of divine intervention becomes something more than a mother, she is the force to reckon with.
Ronit Roy as Joy Dev, the Sarpanch of the village, the ever so helping and understanding induvial, bring subtlety and shock, a rare combo for an actor, and his role is such an enigmatic character, the you're glued to his presence.
Indraneil Sengupta appears briefly but memorably, grounding the story in tragedy before it spirals into horror. The amazing ensemble — including Gopal Singh, Yaaneea Bharadwaj, Jitin Gulati, and Roopkatha Chakraborty — breathe life into the cursed village, portraying a community paralyzed by fear yet complicit in silence. These are not crowd characters; each feels like a person with something to offer.
Vishal Furia handles the subject with confidence, infuses mythology, horror and drama with right amount of emotions and thrills, the entire narrative is beating pulse which is rhythmic and just. His horror is transitional, symbolic, and laced with folklore. The Daitya is never just a monster; but its embodied with fear and sins. The film's mythology-driven suspense keeps viewers on edge from start to finish, it's an emotionally spine-chilling ride that doesn't just spook, but makes you feel eerie.
The film is visually stunning. The cinematography captures the haunting beauty of unexplored rural India — dilatating buildings, ancient temples, dense and misty forests, the bottomless darkness of long night — making Chandrapur feel like a living, breathing organism. The super-fine VFX and special effects are impressive, they take the narrative forward.
A special shout-out to, The Kali Shakti song, which particularly stands out as a spiritual and divine high point — an audio-visual spectacle that bridges myth with modernity and sends chills down the spine.
MAA is a story of a woman pushed to the brink, not just by demons or by loss, it's about what happens when a mother stops asking for help and becomes the help, its empowering.
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