Maja Ma review: Madhuri Dixit starrer is bizarre and problematic in the garb of being progressive

1.5/5

Pallavi Patel (Madhuri Dixit-Nene) is the ideal housewife—middle-aged, devout, and equally well-known for her dancing as for her cooking. What transpires, however, when a rumour about her, just before her son Tejas' engagement to a wealthy NRI girl, threatens to upend the values of her middle-class family?

Every now and then, Gajraj Rao's character, Manohar Patel, tells his onscreen wife, Pallavi Patel (Madhuri Dixit-Nene), how much she takes care of him and his family. The film revolves around the same, where she takes care of her family in every possible way. The so-called rumour, which comes right in the beginning, changes the course of the film and sets a base, but her duties are never stopped.

In Gujarati, Maja Ma literally means having fun. But there aren't many enjoyable or fun moments in this two-hour and fifteen-minute long film. Maja Ma is basically about Tejas Patel (Ritwik Bhowmik) wanting to marry Esha Hansraj (Barkha Singh), an American-born Indian girl born to orthodox NRI parents, played by Rajit Kapur and Sheeba Chaddha. They are so regressive and, with their fake accent, the trio becomes intolerable to watch, despite having the talent.

At one point in time, Sheeba speaks in Punjabi and also talks about being born in Kiratpur. That's when all the accents vanish. The inconsistency of their American accent with orthodox values makes them among the worst NRI characters we have seen in Hindi movies. The discussion goes to many lengths, including a woman in her menstrual cycle not being able to even enter the kitchen. 

After them, the other set of badly written characters is that of Srishti Shrivastava as Madhuri's onscreen daughter, Tara Patel. She is shown as a woman doing a PhD in Gender Studies who is an advocate for LGBTQIA+. However, she turns out to be aggressive and desperate to make people come out of the closet against their own will. She believes that she's helping them, but if she is doing a doctoral study, then she should know that nothing good comes out of being forced.

Another badly written character is that of Bhowmik, who is so determined to marry the love of his life that he ignores the grey area, let alone the black and white.

So many badly written characters weigh down the whole film, which Madhuri tries her level best to lift with her calmness. To match her is the incredible Simone Singh, who hasn't been seen in such a strong role in a long time. Maja Ma also features Gajraj Rao, and his character is to be least criticised given that it mirrors how a male mind functions with ego and societal pressure.

Maja Ma made me red with rage on many levels given the regressive way the message was given on a very progressive subject, which is the need of the hour. The sensitivity has completely vanished, not just towards the characters but even towards the viewers. It indicated that the discussion, which should be open, doesn't always need tough love for a message to be conveyed.

Talking about the performances, Madhuri brings out the best in her in this film as a middle-aged woman whose life is surrounded by her close ones and fulfilling their duties. Like many homemakers, she is also a misunderstood woman who is just seen as a daughter, wife, and mother by her people and society. Thus, one rumour changes everything, and these relationships get questioned as all hell breaks loose.

Even Gajraj Rao, who brings several lighter moments in the film, gets his "major" moment in which he excels, but it isn't a surprise as we know his acting mettle from the past many years.

We just wish the rest of the actors, namely Ritwik, Srishty, Barkha, Rajit Kapur, and Sheeba Chaddha, got better-written characters just like Simone Singh did.

Maja Ma is touted to be musical, but only Boom Padi by Shreya Ghoshal and Osman Mir stays memorable.

Anand Tiwari, who previously directed Love Per Square Foot and Bandish Bandits, takes a quirky approach to his stories once more, this time penned by Sumit Batheja (writer of JugJugg Jeeyo). Everything works in the opposite direction of the film's purported purpose. If "acceptance" is the theme of Maja Ma, then it's a tough nut to crack to accept this film altogether.

Maja Ma has an ensemble and a meaty cast, and the film's premise looked interesting too. But a movie starring Madhuri Dixit turns out to be nothing but regressive and far from entertaining, just like her most recent Netflix outing, The Fame Game.