With MAA (starring Kajol in the title role), writer @SaiwynQ and director @FuriaVishal seamlessly blend the genres of mythology and horror to come up with an engaging film that keeps you hooked for most parts. Set largely in a fictional small town of Chandrapur in West Bengal, MAA tells the story of a protective mother Ambika (played brilliantly by @itsKajolD ) whose life revolves around her 12-year-old daughter Shweta (played by Kherin Sharma). Following a personal tragedy, Ambika and Shweta are forced to visit her husband Shuvankar’s (played by Indraneil Sengupta) ancestral haveli in Chandrapur where demonic practices have resulted in the freaky disappearance of several young girls. As the evil force sets its eye on Shweta, Ambika decides to take things in her own hands and protect her daughter at any cost. #Maa blends village folklore, mythology, and horror in a superb way and this is the film’s biggest USP. Writer @SaiwynQ and director @FuriaVishal do a fine job in world-building as they rely more on the eerie setting of Chandrapur, its horrific past and its terrified present inhabitants than in using jump-scares just for shock value. The film is technically solid and bears a visually grand look thanks to Pushkar Singh’s excellent cinematography, Sheetal Duggal’s top-notch production design and the VFX by Naveen Paul (of @nyvfxwaala ). The BG score by Amar Mohile and sound design by Lochan Kanvinde too packs a punch and builds in the right amount of tension in several scenes. The film has just 2 songs out of which the ‘Kali Maa Shakti’ song is brilliantly picturized and is one of the high-points of the film. #Maa belongs to @itsKajolD who is fantastic and gives it her all to this character. There is a scene in which Kajol literally transforms into an avatar of Kaali Maa and goes in a trance like state which is simply phenomenal and proves yet again that she is one of the finest actors we have. Kherin Sharma (who plays Kajol’s on-screen daughter Shweta) is decent at best with a limited range of expressions. @RonitBoseRoy gets a meaty role but there are some scenes in which his Bengali accent comes across as forced rather than organic. Indraneil Sengupta does a fine job but has limited screen time. Jitin Gulati (who plays the police officer) is decent but his character arc comes across as half-baked. Roopkatha Chakraborthy (who plays the young girl Deepika) is quite good and confident while Gopal Singh (as Bikash), Dibyendu Bhattacharya (as Deepika’s grandfather), Vibha Rani (as the old priestess) and Surjyasika Das (as Nandini) go over-the-top in some scenes with their Bengali mixed Hindi accent which appears a bit caricaturish. Overall, #Maa despite minor blemishes, makes for a compelling watch for 3 main reasons - @itsKajolD ‘s stellar performance, it’s unique mix of mythology & horror that is narrated and depicted on-screen in an engaging way and finally because this one serves as a prequel of sorts to last year’s super-hit #Shaitaan @ajaydevgn@ADFFilms@jiostudios@FuriaVishal@itsKajolD@RonitBoseRoy@SaiwynQ