Maa X reviews: Fans call Kajol's film average, praise her acting and VFX
'Maa', starring Kajol, is a new mythological horror film that released on June 27. A spine-chilling chapter from the universe of 'Shaitaan', the film is directed by Vishal Furia. Early viewers have already shared their reactions on social media after catching the first shows.Also featuring Indraneil Sengupta, Kherin Sharma, and Ronit Roy, 'Maa' is about a mother who becomes Kali to end a demonic curse rooted in fear, blood, and betrayal.advertisementMoviegoers shared their take on the film, with one user calling it "gripping". It further added, "Maa blends emotions, horror and mythology seamlessly. Kajol delivers a knockout act (sic)."
Meanwhile, a second user called the film "strictly average". He further wrote, "Kajol decent performance and VFX is only saving grace for Maa. Routine story. Tiring music. Ordinary casting, poor direction with force horror elements. Evokes no goosebumps. Watch it at your own risk (sic)."A third user wrote, "Kajol stuns in a mythological horror that blends emotion with eerie visuals. First half is slow, but the emotional climax hits hard. A unique attempt with strong performances, especially from Kajol. Watch it for the mother's roar (sic)."Read all the reviews here:
advertisement
Presented by Jio Studios and Devgn Films, 'Maa' is produced by Ajay Devgn and Jyoti Deshpande and co-produced by Kumar Mangat Pathak.Watch the trailer for 'Maa' here: India Today's review of 'Maa' reads, "'Maa' follows quite a predictable arc: an ordinary mother with a child in danger, a cursed past, a mysterious mytho-creature, and then, of course, the divine awakening. The setting makes you want to enter the world, but the horror genre thrives on tension, surprise, jump scares, and some disruption. The plots are guessable and the beats too familiar, taking the edge off what could have been a powerful ride."While addressing the media, Kajol once said, 'This is my strongest role ever.' Kajol plays a mother determined to protect her daughter against all odds, a role she describes as both intense and deeply personal.- EndsMust Watch
IN THIS STORY#Kajol Devgan
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Kajol and Farah Khan fail to identify black cardamom, actors says she doesn't understand the logic behind ‘less salt': ‘Namakharam hai saarein'
Kajol may be one of the finest actresses of her time, but when it comes to cooking, she admits she's no expert. In the latest episode of Farah Khan's vlog, the Maa star stepped into the kitchen to try her hand at making Prawn Biryani, under the guidance of Farah and her cook, Dilip. What followed was a hilarious sequence of spice misidentifications and cooking confusion. As they entered the kitchen, Farah decided to test Kajol's culinary knowledge. She began handing her spices and quizzing her. Holding up shahi jeera, Farah asked, 'What is this?' Kajol hesitated and guessed, 'Jeera?' Farah wasn't convinced. Kajol tried again, 'Ajwain?' Still not right. Farah gave a hint, 'Who is the hero you have done most of your films with?' Kajol quickly replied, 'Shah Rukh?' Farah laughed and revealed, 'It is Shahi Jeera!' Next she showed the actor star anise. Farah asked, 'What is this called? Who are you?' Kajol, clueless, responded, 'I am the biggest fool!' Farah groaned, 'You are the biggest star, man! This is star anise!' Kajol burst into laughter as she said, 'Acha, I am a star!' ALSO READ | Kajol says Karan Johar didn't want her to regain memory after fall on Kuch Kuch Hota Hai set: 'SRK gave me medicine, Karan told me I was a background dancer' Then came the twist, when Farah herself got stumped. Holding up a spice, she looked confused. 'Yeh toh mujhe bhi nahi pata, kya hai yeh? (I too don't know this ingredient, what is this?)' Both turned to Dilip, who with a smile answered, 'Badi elaichi (black cardamom),' leaving them both in splits. As they progressed, Kajol followed Dilip's instructions and added tomatoes. When Farah reminded Kajol to add salt, she enthusiastically said, 'Namak toh… I love namak!' A baffled Farah responded, 'I love namak? Everyone loves namak.' Kajol clarified, 'No, no, I really can't do without salt.' Still confused, Farah asked, 'Bhai, who can do without salt?' Kajol explained, 'A lot of people say 'namak kam hona chahiye (we should eat less salt)'. They talk about the right andaz (measure), but I think that andaz is different for everyone.' Farah quipped, 'Namakharam hai woh saare!' This left them all in splits. Meanwhile, in her interview with Mashable India, Kajol shared that her husband Ajay Devgn is an expert at cooking and very possessive about his recipes. 'He will never reveal his recipes and secret ingredients that he uses to cook them.'
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Kajol recalls losing memory after fall on Kuch Kuch Hota Hai set: 'Shah Rukh Khan gave me medicine, Karan Johar told me I was a background dancer'
Kajol's memory loss incident on the set of 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' resurfaces with new humorous details shared by Farah Khan and Kajol herself. The actress recounts SRK's worried reaction and Karan Johar's potential mischief, while Farah reveals a quirky superstition about heroines falling on set as a good luck charm for the film's success. Some behind-the-scenes stories never lose their charm — especially when they involve iconic films, beloved stars, and a touch of chaos. Kajol 's unforgettable memory loss incident from the sets of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai has long been part of Bollywood lore. But now, as the actress revisits the moment with fresh humour and hilarious new details on Farah Khan 's vlog and in recent interviews, fans are getting a whole new take on what really happened that day — complete with panicked co-stars, a surprise recovery, and Karan Johar 's mischievous antics. Kajol recently appeared on Farah's vlog along with her team. During their light-hearted conversation, Farah revisited the well-known incident from the Kuch Kuch Hota Hai shoot, where Kajol fell off a bicycle and temporarily lost her memory. Adding a playful spin, Farah joked that the memory loss may have been Kajol's way of blocking out Karan Johar's presence on set. Kajol, in her trademark wit, responded with a hilarious theory of her own—suggesting Karan might've seen it as the perfect chance to convince her she was just a background dancer. Recalling SRK's reaction during the incident, Kajol shared how he had been genuinely worried as she sat dazed with a pounding head. While he tried to offer her medicine, she kept refusing, insisting she didn't take tablets. Strangely, three hours later, her memory returned, and she felt completely normal — though she had no recollection of what happened in that time. Shah Rukh, amused and relieved, pointed out that she had taken the medicine after all, calling her an idiot for forgetting even that. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với mức chênh lệch giá thấp nhất IC Markets Đăng ký Undo In another interview with Mashable India, Kajol delved deeper into the chaos that followed the accident. She revealed that both Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar were completely shaken as she sat crying, confused, and unable to recognise anyone. In her disoriented state, she kept asking who they were and insisting she wanted to go home — only to realise they were shooting in Mauritius, far from home, making the situation even more surreal and stressful for everyone involved. On her vlog, Farah Khan shared a quirky superstition from her filmmaking days — that if a heroine took a fall on set, the film was destined to succeed. She recalled how Kajol had stumbled on nearly every project they worked on together, including Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, and joked that her falls became a good luck charm. The belief grew so strong that during the shoot of Kal Ho Naa Ho, when Preity Zinta accidentally fell on a bridge, the team felt oddly reassured about the film's fate. Farah even joked that these days, she's tempted to give her actors a gentle push — just to keep the hit streak going.
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
‘Maa' movie review: Kajol cuts to the chase in this ho-hum horror drama
After every few years, we have a female star taking on the role of a doting mother who morphs into a saviour of her child and family. It is a time-tested Bollywood formula for the heroine who is losing her space under the spotlight to play her age and yet remain central to the story. The template remains the same, but the public sentiment associated with the mother figure is such that the melodrama keeps getting recycled. From Jaya Prada in Maa to Sridevi in Mom and Raveena Tandon in Maatr, the mother magic has worked for several actors. This week, it is Kajol's turn to take the mantle and remind the public that, given the opportunity, she can drive a narrative. While her male contemporaries are still romancing young girls, she has already played a couple of compelling mummy variants in Helicopter Eela and Salaam Venky. Here, the actor has joined hands with Vishal Furia, who tweaked the 'mother in distress' template with Chhorii by adding a layer of supernatural mystery, female agency, and social commentary to make the mumbo-jumbo sound contemporary and progressive. With Kajol by his side, he has the budget to scale up the thought and the spooky atmospherics. The setting is Bengal, which allows him to incorporate the Maa mythology, where the divine organically meets the familial, but the result is surprisingly unengaging. It unspools like a chapter that you have already crammed, an activity that you have already undertaken, a road that you have already traveled. Yes, there are a couple of eerie blind spots, but for the most part, you know where we are headed and how we will get there. Despite being shot on location, Maa gives the sense that we are in a make-believe world. It addresses pertinent concerns, such as how to discuss the onset of menstruation with a teenager. It is woven into the story; however, the heavy-handed approach reduces it to a drab plot device. Shuvankar (Indraneil Sengupta) refuses to take his wife, Ambika (Kajol), and daughter, Shweta (Kherin Sharma), to his native place in Bengal because of a mysterious curse that endangers the lives of young girls in his family. The death of his father forces him to return. It spirals into a series of mysterious events, compelling Ambika to take her daughter to Chandra Nagar and confront the might of a demon with deep roots in the story and religious symbolism of the goddess Durga, as well as her fight against evil forces. Writer Saiwyn Quadras attempts to connect the demonic past with the patriarchal present, but it doesn't work out in the Bengali backdrop. The folklore is flat. Raktabeej has become the most popular mythical monster for Hindi film writers across various genres. The unique characteristic of the demon, who could replicate himself from every drop of blood that fell from his body, has been put to the test so many times that even agnostics can read its blood report. Maa (Hindi) Director: Vishal Furia Cast: Kajol, Ronit Roy, Indraneil Sengupta, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Kherin Sharma, Vibha Rani, Gopal Singh Run-time: Duration: 145 minutes Storyline: A demon's curse forces a mother to morph into a goddess to save her daughter The presence of Ronit Roy as the village headman and the absence of red herrings ensure that the snake in the grass is visible from a distance. Unlike Chhorii, there are hardly any moral dilemmas or difficult decisions to make, which kept us engaged. We are left to stare at the CGI monsters and the endless, shape-shifting limbs of a Banyan tree. The sequence where Ambika and Shweta attempt to escape in a car and are chased by a bevy of monster girls makes one sit up and drop the popcorn. Otherwise, there are long passages where the over(or under)acting of supporting actors and the deliberate rolling of the tongue to manufacture the Bengali accent become increasingly irritating. After a point, the intrinsic logic fails to add up. In the age of creating cinematic universes, the makers seem keen on building connections with Shaitaan that could bring Ajay Devgn and Kajol together. It is a delicious idea, but its seed, or should we say Raktabeej, is not potent enough. Kherin is not the right choice to play Kajol's daughter. She doesn't look the part, and the emotional bond hardly seeps through the screen. Kajol excels in roles that take a no-nonsense approach to life. Here, Ronit, Gopal Singh, and Vibha Rani try to create a melodramatic atmosphere around her that traditionally suits the genre, but Kajol, saddled with emotionally emaciated writing, sticks to her straightforward approach. One thought the subject and writing might bring out Naina of Dushman in Kajol, but she remains Ambika, the mother goddess, making it a one-sided, one-dimensional contest. A Navratra release might have injected some outside energy, but at a time when even the guardians of the universe are asleep, it is hard to keep the mortals invested. Maa is currently running in theatres
