Maria OTT release date in India: Here's when and where you can stream Angelina Jolie-starring biopic

A historical drama on the life of the legendary opera soprano Maria Callas, Maria will premiere on Lionsgate Play (OTTplay Premium) in India, featuring Angelina Jolie as the titular character. Pablo Larraín's riveting film delves into the unseen tales of Maria Callas' ascent to stardom and lasting impact, all set against the dramatic background of Paris in the 1970s.

Maria Callas: La Divina and her legacy

Maria Callas, also known as "La Divina", had a powerful and vulnerable voice that made her one of the most renowned opera singers of all time. Played by Jolie in a moving and life-altering performance, Maria is promising to transport audiences to the outstanding soprano's inner world.

Taking place in the latter years of Callas' career, the film explores the personal challenges and victories that shaped the multi-faceted legacy of the diva. With her hypnotic performance as the opera icon, Jolie makes her long-awaited return to Hollywood.

Angelina Jolie’s deep respect and emotional connection to Callas

The actor, in an impassioned interview, showed her utmost respect for Callas, the opera legend, and the humanity she embodied. Her heart goes out to Callas. Jolie expressed her profound emotion, expressing her gratitude for the chance to portray her as a person.

In addition, she shared a fascinating anecdote about Callas' life that someone told Pablo: that lens, that prescription, this person's almost legally blind, regarding Callas' prescription spectacles, which she wore later in life. This person's survival instinct becomes clear once they grasp it. She had to endure and conceal it and work twice as hard; it wasn't that she simply desired to be this.

Jolie, looking back on Callas's life, highlighted the tremendous emotional weight and strain that went into her performances. As a little girl, Maria's mother tried to force her to sing. This same audience berated her when she became older and changed her ways, accusing her of not being able to perform to their standards. She was under tremendous stress and was a highly sensitive individual.

Strength, poise, and resolve

Jolie was quite open about the mental and physical struggles she had while training for the role, as well as the difficulties of learning opera. The actor didn't understand she needed therapy until she tried it. Finding her voice, being present in her body, and expressing herself were more of an emotional challenge than a technical one. Singers in opera sing their hearts out from the depths of agony. It calls for their whole being, mental and physical.

The performance by Jolie as Maria Callas conveys the diva's strength, poise, and resolve. Kodi Smit-McPhee, Haluk Bilginer, Alba Rohrwacher (watch Finally Dawn), and Pierfrancesco Favino are among the film's other stars. At the Venice Film Festival, it had its premiere to a 10-minute standing ovation.