Maa Movie Review: Kajol Rages, But the Horror Feels Hollow
Mythology meets horror in this ambitious but uneven film, with Kajol doing the heavy lifting while the rest struggles to keep up.
If you’re here for the horror, you might leave a little underwhelmed. But if you’re here for Kajol, raging through ancient rituals with goddess-level intensity, Maa might just be worth the slow burn.
Directed by debutant filmmaker R. Ravindran (who clearly grew up on equal parts Ramayan and The Conjuring), Maa tries to stitch together mythological mystique with genre chills. And while it doesn’t always hold its shape, the film does deliver one thing in full: Kajol, in full dramatic beast mode.
Kajol Is The Whole Movie—And That’s Not A Complaint
Let’s not sugarcoat it—this is a Kajol solo show. She’s the engine, the electricity, the reason the thing doesn’t collapse under its own lore-heavy weight. Playing a mother battling dark forces for her daughter’s soul, she gives the kind of performance that’s all in: raw-eyed, loud when needed, and totally unbothered about “subtle.” It’s big, broad, emotional acting—and honestly, we missed that energy.
Critics across the board agree: Rediff called her “fully committed,” and Koimoi said she and her on-screen daughter were the only sparks in an otherwise “directionless” horror drama. Even NDTV’s lukewarm review admits that Kajol fans might still walk away satisfied. And they will. Because she’s not phoning it in—she’s dialing 1999 landline drama.
The Horror? Kinda Lost In Translation
Now here’s where things get murky. Maa bills itself as a mythology-horror hybrid, but leans so hard into backstory, it forgets to bring the actual scares. There are extended exposition dumps, stylized VFX-laced flashbacks, and a whole lot of muttering about sacred lineages and cursed blood—but you wait a long time for anything remotely terrifying to happen.
And when it finally does? The horror is more Shaktimaan than Stree. The creature design feels unfinished, like someone forgot to render the final layer. Hindustan Times straight-up called the visuals “tacky.” Which stings, because the rest of the film clearly had visual ambition—it’s moody, well-lit, dripping with devotional aesthetics and eerie temples. The vibe’s there. The payoff isn’t.
It Wants To Be Tumbbad. It Ends Up A Mid-Tier Supernatural Soap
The real issue isn’t just the weak VFX. It’s that the script can’t seem to decide what kind of movie it is. At times it’s a maternal melodrama, then suddenly it’s demonic possession. Then it swerves into Kantara territory with forest rituals and karmic destiny. But the transitions aren’t elegant. They’re clunky. You can almost feel the edits being patched together.
This could’ve worked if the writing had emotional depth. But even the central relationship—mother and daughter caught between life, death, and myth—feels sketchy. You get more intensity from Kajol screaming into the void than from any shared moment between the two characters. India Today noted how the emotional resonance doesn’t quite land, and it’s true: the film tells you to feel, but doesn’t always make you feel.
So Who’s Maa For?
Short answer: Kajol loyalists, mythology-heads, and anyone curious to see Bollywood try something a little off the usual horror grid. This isn’t your classic haunted house fare. There are no creepy dolls, no jump scares every three minutes. It’s bigger, slower, and aiming for mythic scale.
But unless you’re really dialed into that mood—and can forgive patchy writing—it might feel like a missed opportunity. Bollywood Hungama gave it a decent 3/5, praising the performances but flagging the story’s uneven grip. NDTV was harsher, calling it a “Kajol show all the way,” but saying the film “falls flat.” That sums it up neatly. She’s doing the heavy lifting. The rest? Needs a rewrite.
Final Thought: A Divine Concept, Mortal Execution
There’s something admirable about a film that tries to mash up ancient legends with modern genre storytelling. Maa definitely isn’t lazy—it’s just overreaching. You can sense what it wanted to be: emotional, spooky, grand. But it never quite finds that sweet spot where myth and fear meet. What we’re left with is a film that’s visually interesting, emotionally half-baked, and entirely powered by Kajol’s fearless, old-school star wattage.
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