Kajol’s Maa Could Redefine Bollywood Horror With Myth And Motherhood
Kajol teams up with Vishal Furia for Maa, a myth-based horror film rooted in Bengali folklore, maternal strength, and spiritual emotion.
Bollywood’s affair with horror has often leaned into tropes—shadowy mansions, haunted dolls, and the usual slew of vengeful spirits. But Kajol’s upcoming film Maa, directed by Vishal Furia, looks ready to steer the genre into deeper emotional terrain. Releasing on June 27, the supernatural drama blends mythology, maternal rage, and folklore-based fear into a narrative that’s quietly gathering buzz for all the right reasons.
A Mother Who Becomes the Myth
At the centre of Maa is a woman who won’t flinch before darkness—not when her child is in danger. Kajol plays that mother, not as a typical scream queen, but as someone who embodies strength pulled from generations of belief and cultural depth.
In the trailer, she’s seen performing rituals, holding her ground against forces far beyond human understanding, and delivering lines that echo like ancient chants. Her visit to Kolkata’s Dakshineswar Kali Temple ahead of the release wasn’t just symbolic. Draped in a simple white saree, she folded her hands before the idol, saying, “It’s one of the strongest roles I’ve ever lived.” Not acted—lived.
The film is steeped in regional lore, specifically the Bengal-rooted myth of the Daitya, a spirit feared for centuries in whispered village tales. It’s not your garden-variety demon—this one’s soaked in cultural memory. And in a rare move for a mainstream production, Maa respects that memory instead of diluting it for drama.
Connected to the Shaitaan Universe, But Standing Alone
Yes, Maa is part of the expanding Shaitaan cinematic universe, which opened strong last year with Ajay Devgn and R. Madhavan in chilling form. But while that film tapped into black magic and psychological manipulation, Maa walks another path—one lined with mud walls, temple bells, and maternal fury.
Fans had speculated about cameos—Devgn or Madhavan popping up in a blink-and-miss scene. But Kajol shut that down gracefully, telling reporters there’s “no surprise entry.” She did hint at future connections, though, saying this may be “just the beginning” for something bigger.
Still, Maa is not here to be a sequel. It has its own geography, its own grief, its own God.
Vishal Furia: A Director Who Lets Women Haunt the Screen
Director Vishal Furia knows how to do horror that lingers. With Chhorii, he proved that a horror film can be disturbing and meaningful without drowning in blood. In Maa, he brings back his signature slow-burn style, but adds an emotional edge sharper than before.
“Fear is not always about what’s outside,” Furia said in a recent interview. “Sometimes, it’s about what a person carries inside them—and what they’re willing to awaken.” That philosophy fits Kajol’s role like a second skin.
Written by Saiwyn Quadras, whose past credits include emotionally heavy films like Neerja and Mary Kom, the screenplay promises a mix of grit and grace. And if early responses to the trailer are anything to go by, audiences are already feeling it.
Maa-More Than Just a Horror Film
The film also stars Ronit Roy, Indraneil Sengupta, Jitin Gulati, and newcomer Kherin Sharma, among others. Each actor, as per the makers, plays a part in the unfolding mystery surrounding a small village plagued by disappearances and unexplained rituals.
Technically, the film holds up too. With Pushkar Singh behind the camera and Sandeep Francis on the edit table, Maa has a visual language that’s grim yet grounded. The score, composed by Harsh Upadhyay, Rocky Khanna, and Shiv Malhotra, leans into devotional chants and ambient fear instead of over-the-top sound jolts. It’s horror that hums in your bones.
The multilingual release—Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Bengali—isn’t just a market strategy. It’s a nod to the story’s regional heart, something Vishal Furia has insisted be kept intact across all versions.
Why Audiences Are Watching This One Closely
With Bollywood slowly moving away from copy-paste horror and toward culturally rooted storytelling, Maa arrives at a moment where the industry is ready for reinvention. Unlike previous supernatural thrillers that often felt like flashy reels stitched together, this film seems to dig into what horror really means in an Indian context—faith, folklore, and family.
The June 27 release will see Maa hit theatres alongside the 4K re-release of Umrao Jaan. But the audiences for each may be distinct. One is nostalgia draped in poetry, the other a mythic scream for justice. And there’s a growing belief that Maa might do for mothers what Kantara did for the deity—a cinematic resurrection.
Whether it shakes up the box office or not, one thing’s clear: Maa is not here to spook for sport. It’s here to roar.
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