Maja Ma Movie Review: Madhuri Dixit and ensemble hold together this entertaining family drama

Maja Ma Movie Review: Madhuri Dixit is staking her claim to be the often discussed 'best actress' in the country with her captivating performance in the latest Prime Video release Maja Ma. The Hindi film deals with the issue of sexual identity, with a focus on Madhuri's silent but simmering character Pallavi Patel, a housemaker who is afraid to come out of the closet due to societal and family pressure. The film is pure entertainment and does well in putting the point across. Madhuri confidently leads the ensemble of Gajraj Rao, Ritwik Bhowmik, Srishti Shrivastava, Sheeba Chaddha, Barkha Singh and others, making us empathise with Pallavi's situation and many others who are caught up in the dilemma of whether to confront or hide away their sexuality.   

Madhuri Dixit shows two sides of Pallavi with finesse. Initially, she is the ideal homemaker, a loving mother, and everyone's favourite. After the revelation about her sexuality, she is forced to go into a shell and is pinned against the wall. Maja Ma is as much about Pallavi as it is about others in her life and how they take for a fact that she has been hiding away her sexual desires for the sake of family. While Pallavi talks in silence with the eyes of judgement always on her, Maja Ma tries to balance the seriousness of it all by making the most of its cartoonish characters. The emotional quotient is tempered with comic scenes and the storyline alternates between seriousness and hilarity. However, the balance is maintained and the tonality is not compromised. 

Ritwik, Shristi and Barkha have done well as the supporting cast. Sheeba Chaddha delivers a stand-out performance as Pam and her ability to pack various shades of the character is simply stunning. In the climactic confrontation scene, she steals the show as the switch from a happy-to-go-lucky woman to someone who has been unloved in marriage comes as a hard-hitting truth of many marriages.

Maja Ma has a socially relevant plot and solid performances to push it across the line. It is the film of the hour and must be viewed with family. It is humourous when it needs to be and eventually an eye-opener.